When History Repeats Itself
by quanxie
Summary: Derek's childhood friend returns to Beacon Hills reminding him of happier days and showing him what he's been missing in his search for power. But in the face of the alpha pack, history threatens to repeat itself and Derek may once again lose everyone he loves. WARNING: Language & adult contents. Set at the start of S3. Derek/OC (slight AU). Other characters in later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

Summary: Derek's childhood friend returns to Beacon Hills reminding him of happier days and showing him what he's been missing in his search of revenge. But in the face of the alpha pack, history threatens to repeat itself and cause Derek to once again lose everything.

A/N: This is my first stab at fanfiction writing. I would appreciate any feedback/reviews you guys have be it good or constructive suggestions for improvement. Thank you!

Chapter 1 – The Woods Are Lovely Dark and Deep

Between the scream and screeching tires she thought she'd go deaf.

In the absolute silence that followed the eruption of sound, Holly Williams, believed for a moment she had. But she could hear her breathing, rapid and uneven. Like she just finished a thousand meter race. An acrid taste in her mouth accompanied the heartbeat. It took Holly another moment to realize she's bitten down on her tongue, hard enough to coat her mouth with her own blood.

She looked out the windshield expecting to find it splintered, but the view to the forest from where her car skidded to a sideways stop remained clear. She'd hit something. She knew she did. No… she hit someone. It had arms and legs.

Unfastening her belt, Holly focused her gaze out the side window on the streets and saw someone lying there, lit by the light of the moon. The someone, who didn't move.

"Oh God, please don't be dead. Don't be dead. Don't be dead."

She repeated the words like a mantra as she climbed out of her car and ran back to where the person lay. She could tell he was a man when she got closer. He still didn't move. Don't be dead? How could he not be dead?

"Oh… shit. Please…"

She dropped to her knees next to him, but nearly leapt back to her car when he let out a low groan.

"Oh thank you God, you're alive."

He groaned again in answer and rolled onto his back.

"Don't move, okay? Don't move. You could have internal damage. You probably have internal damage. I'm so sorry, I didn't see you."

She was babbling. She knew it, but it didn't matter. He was alive. She needed to talk to him. Keep him engaged. Holly fished out her smart phone and was in the process of dialing 911 when the nearly human road kill, pushed up onto all fours.

"What are you doing? Don't move. Stop moving!"

"Have… to go…" he panted out slowly as if every word caused him pain.

"The only thing you have to do is lie down. You could have a concussion… broken bones… stop it."

As gently as she could, Holly pushed the man back to the ground flat on his back. She should have completed the call, but with the moon fully on his skin she found herself staring at him. He looked familiar.

"Do you know your name?"

"Of course I know my name," he still sounded weak but his voice assumed an annoyed tone. "It's—"

"—Derek?"

The confused almost furious look he gave her turned on a dime to anxiety the same time a canopy of wolf howls intruded into the silence of the night.

"We have to go."

"I have to call an ambulance. You're not supposed to move. Derek, would you please stop moving."

He heard her. He had to have heard her unless the trip up and over her car damaged his hearing. But it didn't stop him from getting to his feet. Once there he wobbled, stumbled, and would have hit the ground again, if Holly hadn't moved to catch him.

"Derek, stop."

"We have to go," he repeated the words more forcefully.

In her head, Holly cursed up a storm. Blood clung to the left side of his face and her fingers touched something wet and sticky on his side. And there were wolves in the woods. Probably, they smelled the blood. Probably, they wouldn't attack. But why risk it. Besides, Derek was up and making it undeniably clear he had no intention of staying on the ground. If she tried to force him back down, she might hurt him more.

"All right," she conceded. "But I'm taking you to the hospital.

They moved slowly with Holly supporting his weight as best she could. Her height helped since she was only two, maybe there inches shorter than Derek at the most. But he was a solid guy made mostly of muscles. And muscles were heavy. They stumbled twice, and she nearly dropped him once before they finally reached her car.

Holly propped him against the car and opened the passenger door. Once he'd collapsed into the seat she ran around the front and climbed behind the wheel again.

"Go," he panted weakly.

"In a minute."

As she spoke she leaned over him but instead of grabbing hold of the belt she found her wrist incased in a surprisingly strong grip.

"Derek…"

"…Go! Now!"

The panic in his voice more than the words pushed her into action. Holly turned the engine over, shifted her car into first gear, and took off. She waited to get the car up to speed before she glanced in the rear view mirror. Part of her almost expecting to find the devil behind them, but only the dark, now empty road remained. Her passenger had closed his eyes, but he was still alive, still breathing.

"Derek?" she glanced at him for a moment, quickly refocusing her eyes on the road. "Please wake up."

"I am awake," his words came out in a barely muttered whisper. "I'm fine."

"You're anything but fine. I just hit you with my car going fifty miles an hour. You should be dead."

"I'm not."

"Thank you captain obvious."

"I'll be fine."

"Glad you think so. But I prefer a doctor's verification."

"No hospitals."

"Unfortunately that's where this town tends to keep their doctors."

"No hospitals," he barked with conviction.

She couldn't see his face, not well. The car windows were at the wrong angle to let enough moonlight into the interior, and the dashboard lights did little to illuminate the passenger side. Still she felt the weight of his gaze on her.

"You can stare at me all you want. You wouldn't let me call an ambulance… fine but I'm taking you to the hospital."

"I said no."

The leather moaned as Derek shifted his weight in the seat. He wrapped his fingers around her wrist for a second time, pulling her hand from the gearshift.

"Derek…"

"…No."

"…I'm taking you…"

"…You take me to the hospital and I'm dead."

"Wait? What?"

"Please…"

"All right."

"Promise me."

When she remained silent he tightened his grip, relenting only slightly when Holly sucked in air through her teeth from the pain.

"Promise me," he repeated, softer this time.

"All right," Holly conceded, slightly surprised when he didn't protest her pulling her wrist away from him. The hand that held onto her dropped limply to his lap. "I promise. No hospitals."

She glanced at her passenger as they breeched the city. Streetlights welcomed drivers back into civilization, casting shadows and turning windows into temporary reflective surfaces. Derek turned his face away from her, but she caught glimpses of his reflection in the passenger window. Eyes closed, breathing rapid and shallow.

Everything in her screamed to get the man to Beacon Hill's emergency room. He was in no condition to make decisions about his health, but she'd promised him she wouldn't. Once upon a time, promises between her and Derek had been honor codes. A verbally spoken blood bond.

With another sigh, Holly pulled into the parking lot of a grocery store.

"Derek?"

When he didn't stir, she removed her seatbelt and leaned over the center console to examine him closer. He continued to breath quickly through parted lips, though it reminded Holly more of a dog panting in the summer heat than actual breathing.

"Derek?" she called his name louder as her eyes studying his face for any change. Any shift in his pattern of breathing. Any indication that he heard her or was awake.

Unresponsive she searched his front pockets for a wallet, found none, and tried as best she could to search the back pockets.

"What am I supposed to do with you?"

Another sigh left her lips as she drummed her fingers against the steering wheel and mentally went through her options. She couldn't take him to his house.

That had been one of the first places she visited upon returning to Beacon Hill. She'd heard Derek was in town, exonerated from suspicions of murdering his sister and about five other people. On the drive to his place she pictured she'd find it in various stages of reconstruction. The last of the Hale linage, returning the family home to its former glory. Her heart sank when she pulled up to see the same burnt out shell from six years ago.

She couldn't take him to the hospital, though that would be the right thing to do. The decent thing… promise be damned. He didn't have a wallet, at least none she could find, but he did have a phone shoved into his front pocket. She could check it. See what number he called the most. See if there was some contact that could tell her where he lived. Her eyes lingered on the pocket in questions but ultimately looked away. She never invaded his privacy before, she wasn't about to start now.

Pressing her lips together, Holly slipped her car back into gear and merged into the traffic on the streets. There was really only one place she could think to take him.

"You weigh a ton," Holly scolded an unconscious Derek as she sat on the floor to catch her breath.

Their destination had been her family home, technically her home since she was all the only Williams left, in the affluent neighborhood of Beacon Hill. Once upon a time her father, in his words, reigned as mayor of Beacon Hill. However, prior to his election into public office he'd already made a fortune for the family. She grew up in the lap of all the privilege money could buy… and a necropolis wouldn't contain all the bones of their family secrets.

The Williams' estate had never been one filled of childhood laughter or love. It had been one of the things that kept her going back to the Hale household when she was a child and a teen. Derek's friendship and resulting protection had been a happy side effect.

Upon their arrival she parked in the garage, pulled a sleeping bag from the basement, opened it up, rolled Derek inside, zipped it up, and literally dragged him from the garage to the first floor guest bedroom. He stirred a few times, regaining some semblance of consciousness long enough to vocalize pain but never really came to.

Holly stood, rubbed her hands together and gripped the ends of the sleeping bag. After minutes of struggling, and being positive she pulled some obscure muscles in her back, she finally tugged a sleeping bag full of Derek up the side of the bed. She positioned him in the center and unzipped the bag spreading it open on either side.

Under the lights of the room he looked worse than he had in the car. The absence of light hid how pale he'd become, but it was the rips in his shirt that caused a frown to settle over Holly's expression.

"I'll be right back," she told him softly. "Don't move."

She moved through the house, quickly collecting items she would need. Two plastic containers filled with warm water, several wash clothes, antiseptic, bandages, scissors and tape. She took a seat on one side of Derek when she returned. The items spread on the other. She cleaned his face and head first, soaking one of the wash clothes and carefully dabbing at the blood.

Somewhere between dragging him from the garage, and rolling him onto the bed his breathing evened out from shallow, quick pants, to a deep, even pattern indicative of sleep.

With the blood cleared away, she couldn't find a wound that caused the leakage in the first place. The same couldn't be said after cutting away his shirt. Slash marks of varying depths cut across his torso, side, and back like some sort of savage roadmap. There were a lot of injuries a car could cause… claw marks were not on that list.

"What the hell happened to you?"

Holly tried to keep her concentration on cleaning and disinfecting the wounds, and less on the impressive muscle structure underneath and around them. She'd seen Derek without his shirt on before. Being on the swim team together, she had seen him in nothing but a pair of swim trunks. Six years ago, a teenage Derek possessed a great body. Now, Holly was fairly certain a hunt for fat anywhere on him would end in defeat.

Cleaned and bandaged, she removed his shoes, socks and considered removing his pants for a half second until she remembered underwear had always been an optional garment for Derek. Holly knelt on the bed next to Derek, studied him, frowned, and placed her hand on the center of his chest. His heart was racing again faster than it had been before. His color hadn't improved and his skin felt clammy.

"Oh no. No, no, Derek no."

Holly watched in horror as each white bandage slowly turned a sickening shade of red so dark it was nearly black.

Holly assumed the situation couldn't get any worse.

The convulsions proved her wrong.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Thank you for those that have taken the time to post reviews. I appreciate knowing you guys are enjoying my writing.

So I'm trying something slightly different for this chapter, writing it in the 3rd person narrative from Derek's POV. Originally I planned to stick primarily to Holly's POV, but was curious how Holly would look from a different POV. I'd like to know what you guys think. My main concern is I want to stay true to the voice of the canon characters, so please review and let me know. Thanks and enjoy!

Chapter 2 – Crane Style

The warmth of the sun caressing his skin woke him.

The stab of pain shooting through every muscle in his body chased away the possibility of falling back asleep. He tried to recall the course of events from the previous night. He remembered fighting two of the alphas. Though he never got a good look at either of them, he was positive they represented the two sexes. He remembered running, quite possibly, for his life. At the time, it seemed the only viable option to dying. At the time, he told himself he ran for Isaac, Boyd, and Erica's sake. But lying to himself had never been a trick Derek was good at. Isaac, Boyd and Erica hadn't been the only reason he ran. He ran because dying hadn't been an option. At least not one he was willing to take.

Not like that. And definitely not taken down by them.

Slowly he opened his eyes. Half expecting the light to hurt them and completely surprised when the pain never came. The two questions of where was he, and how did he get there were answered the moment he turned his gaze to the woman sleeping next to him.

She lay on her side with one arm tucked under her pillow, and the other ending with her hand partially curled next to her cheek. The same sun that woke him caressed her face and gave her caramel complexion an almost ethereal glow.

Holly.

Unlike him, who seemed to be missing his shirt, Holly retained the majority of her clothing with the exception of her shoes. She had removed his shirt in order to bandage his chest, and covered him with what felt like the world's softest blanket. No blanket covered her, giving an unobstructed view of a slightly rumbled button down lavender shirt and a black pencil skirt. The skirt fared far worse than the shirt. Not only had the material bunched and twisted to create wrinkles, but the slit fell victim to the night's events and transformed the slit into an unnatural tear halfway up the length of her thigh.

The longer he watched her, the more glimpses he received about the past eight or so hours. Had Derek been at his peak, he might have avoided her car instead of ending up a hood ornament. From there, his memory became more sporadic. He remembered her helping him to the car, sitting in the car and sitting in a parking lot somewhere. But he didn't know where they were now, or how she got him there. At least he wasn't in a hospital.

He remembered making her promise not to take him. The last thing he needed was to try to explain to a doctor why the wounds they admitted him with were already healed.

Healed.

He almost scoffed at that. His skin mended over the external injuries but he could still feel the internal damage. Those healed much slower. He needed to get back to his family's home. He would find the natural remedies he needed to help speed the process there. But first thing was first.

Slowly Derek pushed himself into a seated position, testing the limits of his physical abilities. His body hurt, it felt like it was on fire but that was a good sign. It meant it was still healing, that it hadn't stalled out. At least not yet. He gently swept the blanket to the side, relieved at the visual confirmation that Holly didn't remove his jeans along with his shirt. He felt vulnerable enough not knowing his location, though as he looked around the room he could hazard an educated guess.

The bed didn't move or utter any sounds of protest under his shifting weight, but as he swung his legs over the side, he heard the subtle shift in Holly's breathing. She grumbled something he couldn't quite make out and he turned around in time to see her stretch onto her stomach, reach her hand out to touch where his body should have been, and snap instantly awake.

"Derek?"

She pushed herself up with one hand and pushed a mess of unruly cinnamon colored curls out of her face. The lingering veil of sleep and his movement resulted in what Derek decided was quite possibly the most adorable look of confusion he'd seen in years.

She rubbed a hand against the back of her eyes and crawled across the bed to him immediately gripping him in a bear tight hug. Had his body not been aching the embrace would have been welcomed. Now it just lit him on fire and reminded him of how well he was not.

Still it had been years since he'd seen Holly. Her scent, as always, was a comforting balm. He turned, gritted his teeth so he didn't verbalize the pain, and wrapped her in the strong embrace she was expecting.

"Thank God," she sighed still clinging to him. "I thought you were going to die. I seriously thought you were going to die last night. I've never seen anything like that in my life. Please do not do that to me again."

She finally released him, and Derek found himself staring into familiar brown eyes.

"You shouldn't be moving around."

"I feel fine," he lied and looked down at a garbage can filled with bloody bandages, and then rubbed a hand over the ones covering his stomach.

"I should look at those."

"No," he spoke softly and caught her wrist, immediately releasing it at her soft gasp. "It's okay. You've already taken care of me enough."

"Well, I did hit you with my car. It's the least I could do."

He watched as she censored herself. He saw it in her eyes. A question, a statement, something else she planned to add but decided to hold back in favor of climbing off the bed and pulling the curtains opened. Derek had always been able to read Holly, but then he figured her tells out at a pretty early age. And apparently, she hadn't changed over the years.

"This is your parent's place?"

Derek cautiously pushed off the bed to his feet, not completely certain his legs were going to support his weight. Vertical helped. Like the elevation helped to convince his body he was okay. Or maybe it just cleared his head. He always did his best thinking on his feet.

He moved to the window and let his gaze wash over part of Holly's backyard. He couldn't help but notice the bareness of the patio. It had been a while since he'd been at her house. Mr. Williams wasn't one of Derek's fans, even though he protected his daughter. Not that Derek gave a damn. Mr. Williams had never made his favorite persons' list either. Not when half the time he was protecting Holly, it was from her own father.

Derek considered slipping out through the window. His self-control was excellent, but a confrontation with Mr. Williams might be more than he could handle in his current state. Injured wolves tended to attack when provoked. And Mr. Williams always provoked him.

"Not to sound unappreciative, but why did you bring me here?"

"You don't remember?"

"Remember what?"

She chuckled and moved to stand next to him, arms folded over her stomach. "You made me promise not to take you to the hospital. You had this look on your face like Max used to get whenever he realized we were taking him to the vet."

He chuckled at that. He shouldn't have since it tugged against his internal injuries, but Holly always made him laugh. Especially when he didn't want to, like it was her personal mission.

"And you passed out before telling me where you lived. It was here or the alley behind _Baker's Dozen_. I figured the bed might be a little more comfortable."

He smirked. "Where's your father? Or did time soften his heart towards me?"

Her pause caused him to glance in her direction. The words that followed focused his full attention on her.

"He doesn't have anything to say on the subject of you, or any subject for that matter. He's in Beacon Hill Cemetery."

"Holly—"

"—Are you hungry? I'm starving so you must be famished."

Derek turned and followed her with his gaze as she retreated to the door. The slight smile she inspired earlier disappeared until it flipped in the opposite direction. She turned and stared at him when she reached her destination. Her fingers lingering on the wood, lightly drumming.

"Scrambled eggs and bacon okay? You still like them scrambled right?"

"Yes," he answered. "Scrambled eggs and bacon sound delicious."

Holly nodded and gestured to another door to his left. "You can use the shower right through there. I'll leave a shirt and some extra bandages on the bed."

"Thanks Holly," he offered lamely.

Derek knew he should have said more. Offered his condolences. Asked her when it happened, what happened, how she felt. Sure she made it obvious she didn't want to talk about it, which was why he should have made her confront it. It's what she would have done to him. She would have kept pestering him until he exploded and yelled and punched a hole in the wall, but the anger would have been outside, not twisting inside like a knot. And when all was said and done he would have felt better.

But Derek had other things pressing on his mind. And no matter how good it was to see his friend, or how much she needed him to be that shoulder, he couldn't. Not now. Not when Isaac was out there.

A quick pat to his pockets determined his phone to be missing. Finding the alphas… not the problem. Finding where they alphas were keeping Boyd and Erica… problem. Hopefully Isaac had better luck.

One by one he peeled the bandages off and tossed them into the trashcan with the others. His skin told no story of the fight he had last night between the alphas... One had been a woman. At one time pretty but if that pedicure was any indication, she'd spent so much time in her wolf form she seemed to lack the ability to change back completely.

His jeans were next to be discarded onto the bed. The movement reminded him even though the surface wounds were healed the deeper ones still existed. Eating would help charge his metabolism until he could get back to his family home.

Naked, he padded into the bathroom, turned on the water and tentatively stepped under the jets. Droplets rained over his skin like the cascading flow of a waterfall. He braced a hand against the tile, tilted his head back and let the water drizzle over his face, neck, shoulders, and run over his back and torso. The water helped. The heat helped. Everything would help, even movement eventually. Once his body recovered enough, movement would speed the healing. But for the time being, Derek enjoyed the feeling of the hot water against his skin and tried not to think of how well and truly fucked he was.

Even if… no… when. Even when the found Erica and Boyd he had absolutely no idea how he would get them back. Last night he fought two and damn near died. One he could take, but it's not like they would just stand ringside and let him fight them one at a time. Two he might be able to handle at the same time under the best possible set of circumstances, but how many did that leave? Three? Four?

Isaac had improved. He was better and faster, but Isaac wouldn't be able to take on an alpha. At less than a year into the transformation, no bitten wolf could. Scott, maybe. But was different. Driven to protect everyone. Even those he didn't know. Even those he didn't like. He did it because it was the right thing to do. But Derek tucked Scott McCall into the last resort pile. Peter had taken Scott's adolescence away when he bit him. And what Peter hadn't taken, Kanima finished. Well he and the Kanima. Derek held no illusions. Knew he was as much to blame as Peter and the Kanima. He also knew what it was like to grow up way too fast. He promised to keep Scott out of his problems as much as possible.

The plan seemed to be working, so far. But Derek didn't hold out hope it would last forever. Scott was still a werewolf, and he still lived in Beacon Hill. The alpha situation hadn't touched him yet, but the spillage was coming.

Derek didn't think he spent a long time under the jets. The water never turned cold as it did in his loft, but by the time he returned to the room the smell of cooked bacon tickled his nose and teased his stomach. It reminding him the last time he ate, the sun had been out yesterday. He dried off and dressed quickly. Slipping his jeans back on and pulling a tan long sleeve shirt Holly left on the bed. Her father's, he assumed, since it fit him perfectly. Mr. Williams had been a solidly built man.

Once he slipped his shoes on, Derek followed his nose to the kitchen. It was on the tip of his tongue to announce his arrival but he opted instead to silently take a seat on one of the barstools and observe Holly at the stove.

She showered as well. The ripped skit replaced by a pair of gray pants with thin black pinstripes. The legs of the slacks were wide but the material around her hips and butt formed around the curve of her body. Curved around hips and a butt he didn't remember her having six years ago. A jacket that matched the pants was draped over the back of the barstool next to him, leaving her torso covered in a white silk tank top of some sort. The unruly curls from early washed, wet, and pinned into some type of up style he was sure women called by some fancy name.

"Still sneaking about I see," she teased as she emptied the skillet of eggs onto a plate.

He grinned despite his best efforts not to. "I knew you saw my reflection in the microwave."

"Sure you did," Holly glanced over her shoulder with a skeptical look. "If you're up to it, make yourself useful and get down a couple of glasses?" she gestured to the cabinet. "Orange juice is in the fridge."

With a nod, Derek stood and retrieved the items, pouring each of them a full glass while Holly divided the bacon and eggs onto two plates.

"When did you become domesticated?" he questioned placing a glass in front of the stoll she climbed onto.

"Excuse me? Domesticated?"

"The girl that used to burn toast can make bacon and eggs that taste…" he let the words trail off in favor of bringing a forkful to his mouth. His stomach immediately grumbled a demand for more. "Pretty damn good."

"You can't cook?"

Derek gave a non-committal shrug.

"Don't you get tired of take out?"

Again he answered with the shrug while he continued to eat.

"Well I did, so it was learn how to cook or…" it was Holly's turn to shrug as once again she censored herself.

"Or what?"

"What were you doing out there last night?"

"Out where?" he countered hoping she'd drop it, but knowing she wouldn't.

"Out trapping gophers," she replied sarcastically. "Out running in the woods in the dead of night."

Derek sucked in a deep breath and failed to come up with a plausible lie to tell and settled for the incredibly lame, "It's a long story," excuse.

"You didn't used to keep secrets."

"It's not a secret," he lied again.

"Then why won't you tell me."

"It really is, a long story."

"Does it involved drugs?"

"Do I look like a drug dealer?"

"No, but then this is Beacon Hill. Most drug dealers don't look like drug dealers in Beacon Hill."

"How do you know there are drug dealers in Beacon Hill?"

"Because the population is greater than two. And stop trying to change the subject," she shifted in her seat, angling her body so she could face him. "What aren't you telling me? Are you in some kind of trouble? If you're in trouble I might be able to help you. I'm fairly resourceful when I need to be."

"I remember," he answered softly.

For a moment, staring into those large brown eyes, Derek wondered what her reaction would be if he simply blurted out the Hale family secret. She thought he never kept anything from her, and for the most part that was true, except for that one little thing. His father made it clear to him and Cora in order for Holly to remain their friend they would have to keep that one thing from her. It wouldn't just put the family in danger, it would put her in danger.

Cora had been fine with it, Derek had too, for a while. But the older they got the stronger the desire grew to tell her. Not because it was forbidden, but because he wanted her to know. He wanted to share everything with her. He wanted to tell her. Almost had on a few occasions but he never did. Six years later that desire to bring her into that part of his life hadn't changed. Unfortunately neither did the danger. If anything it escalated.

"All right, since I'm already late for work, you are getting a reprieve."

"I am?" he questioned lifting both eyebrows.

"But we're having dinner tonight."

"We are?"

"Is _Rocket on 6_ still open?"

"Yes."

"Perfect," Holly smiled as she stood and deposited both plates into the dishwasher. "You can meet me there at seven. That gives you over ten hours to come up with a good story for being in the middle of nowhere at oh dark thirty. And it better be good."

Derek was fairly certain his eyebrows were elevated into his hairline. "You want me to make something up?"

"Don't look so surprised, we used to do it all the time when we were kids. Besides, the truth is probably boring… or illegal so…" She flashed a smile at that. "Make it something good, something with… with witches and dragons and… oh cranes."

"Cranes?"

"What? You don't think cranes are tough?"

"They're bird."

"A bird with a Kung Fu style named after it."

"Point taken."

"Remember when we went to see Kung Fu Panda at the AMC?"

Derek paused as another smile touched his lips.

Memories. He had nearly forgotten all his memories of Beacon Hill weren't tragic and filled with pain and regret and guilt. Some had been good… others great.

His reply was interrupted by a familiar ring tone.

"Is that my phone?" even as he asked he stood and began tracing the sound back down the hall to the room he'd awaken in.

"It's on the table next to the bed." Holly called. "When you get done meet me in the garage."

"Hello?" he didn't recognize the number, but the name on the caller ID said Beacon Hill Hospital.

"Is this Derek?"

The voice belonging to Melissa McCall, he recognized. "Is Scott all right?"

"He's fine," she began in a hushed voice. "But where ever you are, you need to get down here as soon as possible. It's Isaac—"

"—I'm on my way," Derek interrupted and abruptly ended the call.

He didn't need to know any more. Apparently he wasn't the only one that tangled with the alphas last night. And apparently he wasn't the only one that didn't fare well either. It had been his primary fear in the search for the two missing teenagers. That instead of finding Erica and Boyd he would lose Isaac as well.

Peter he didn't care about. He wasn't supposed to be there anyway. If it hadn't been for Lydia he'd still be buried under the family house. Derek still wasn't sure how he felt about his uncle's return. Part of him was glad he was back to help, but then he would remember the way he found Laura. Savaged and literally ripped in half by her own uncle. Peter had killed her so he could be alpha and Derek had killed Peter.

And then he bit Isaac so he could have a pack. So he could have a family. So he could be strong.

Isaac was his responsibility.

His to protect.

And he failed.

Just like he failed at everything.

He jogged quickly through the house, using his nose to lead him to the smell of oil and engine grease. He found the garage and Holly staring at her car. At one time the sleek, black automobile had probably been a hell of a sweet ride, but presently the front grill was smashed in from where his body first impacted, and the hood and roof both suffered deep indentions from where he rolled up and over the car.

"How is it you are walking? Meanwhile my car looks like it was sat on by The Hulk."

"Dense bones?" he offered with a slight shrug.

"Den—dense bo…" Holly pressed her lips together. Her gaze altering with disbelief between the wrecked car and Derek. "You better come with one hell of a story tonight."

She grumbled something else as she hit the button on the wall, but the mechanical whirling of the garage door rising made it difficult to hear her words. He held her door open as she climbed in behind the wheel. A small gesture but it seemed the least he could do.

"Can you drop me off somewhere?" he questioned after settling in on the other side.

"Need me to take you to your bad guys secret lair hidden in the side of the mountain?"

"I need you to take me to the hospital."

Her fingers had been reaching for the button to start the engine. His words caused her to completely stop, turn, and stare at him as if he asked her to take him to the mars.

"I'm sorry, the last word sounded like hospital."

Derek gave her a questioning look. "Yes. The hospital."

"When I wanted to take you last night, you acted like I was suggesting tossing you into Lassen Peak as a ritual sacrifice. Now you want to just blithely stroll in there?"

He paused, met her gaze, and smirked. "Yes."

Holly narrowed her eyes, pressed the button and grumbled. "Better be such a good story."


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Thank you for those that have taken the time to post reviews. I appreciate knowing you guys are enjoying my writing. I also appreciate those that are now following the story, but I'd really like to get more reviews on what you guys think. Do you feel I captured Derek's POV correctly in chapter 2? Should I do more chapters from his view point or is it preferred to stick with Holly's? I want to hear what you guys like about the story and what can/should be changed or improved to help overall enjoyment. Really reviews are like life's blood.

If you're enjoy, please review!

**POTENTIAL SPOILER ALERT FOR EPISODE 1!**

Chapter 3 – Feathers, Blood and Burgers

Black feathers and scratched students filled the hallway.

Holly never intended to arrive two hours late for her first day of work. Of course she never intended to hit Derek with her car last night either. However, as she pulled into the parking lot of Beacon Hill High School the ambulances and police cars were nearly a welcome relief. Not that anyone being hurt was a good thing, but maybe it would postponed or cancel whatever lecture principle Thorne had in store.

"That was, the most bizarre thing ever," a student assured another as she moved quickly down the hallway.

Holly paused at the open doorway and peaked over the heads of a few students to see what could have passed for a set on the remake of Alfred Hitchcock's _The Birds_. Only instead of seagulls, black crow feathers littered the floor.

The words, "Hi there," spoken in a chipper male voice nearly directly into her ear cause Holly to give a startled gasp, where quickly followed by, "My apologies, I didn't mean to frighten you."

With her heart still lodged firmly in her chest, Holly turned to regard the man standing close enough to smell his _Brut_ aftershave and wondered if the term personal space held any meaning for him.

"No, you didn't frighten me just… surprised is all."

He smiled at her and she assured herself the lecherous undertone was just her imagination.

"Mr. Harris," he extended his hand. "Chemistry teacher. Please call me Adrian."

Holly sucked in a lungful of air as she accepted his hand. "A pleasure, um, Adrian I'm—"

"—Holly Williams," he concluded. "The new librarian."

"And coach for the swim team."

It was on the tip of Holly's tongue to add Principle Thorne added her to the staff as a librarian because the school board wouldn't allow him to hire someone solely as a sports coach. But she decided against it. Just as she decided against telling him her degree hadn't been anything associated with being a librarian, but the position had recently been vacated and needed filling. After seeing the state of the library, Holly understood why her predecessor left on abrupt terms.

"You may not remember me but I remember you," he continued. "You were one of my best students."

"Oh, I remember you Mr. Harris."

"Adrian," he corrected.

"Sorry… Adrian. Old habits."

"They've converted one of the larger classrooms into a temporary library while the renovations are ongoing. I told Principle Thorne I would show you around when you arrived. I hope this isn't going to be a little habit of yours."

"No," she pushed a smile to her lips and glanced back into the room as one of the students plucked a feather from the teacher's hair. "I had car trouble this morning."

"Where do you live?" he made a gesture for her to fall into step next to him. "Perhaps we can carpool."

"Oh, um, I… thank you. That's very generous but, you know with being new I need a few weeks to figure out my schedule. You know, get the lay of the land. But, maybe later? Once the dust settles."

"Of course."

If the rejection disappointed Adrian, he didn't show it. Nor did he let it stop him from taking her on a tour of a school that hadn't changed much since she attended as a student. Different classes were held in different locations but the landmarks… lunch room, gym, pool, locker rooms hadn't moved.

Stepping into the pool house felt like stepping into a time machine. The tile was the same, the announcement booth was the same and unfortunately the banners were the same. The pool team hadn't won anything since 2007.

Adrian chatted with her a bit more, but fortunately had to leave at the start of fourth period. He was another aspect of the school that didn't change. As a student she didn't like him. He seemed to find too much joy in proving his students wrong. Like he felt threatened, or endangered that any given moment he would cease being the smartest one in the class. In college she joked that she learned chemistry despite her high school teacher, not because of him. Thinking back the joke was really that the statement was true.

The day continued on. Holly found herself falling into a temporary rhythm. The room, though one of the larger classrooms didn't come close to housing all of the books from the library. Some had been left in the partially destroyed room, which was inconveniently located almost on the other side of the campus. Add to that a good number of them had been moved to the boiler room, meant Holly split her time between running from one end of the school to the other and up and down stairs to supply students with the books they requested. The first order of business was painfully clear.

Figure out a better system.

Whoever decided which books would go where didn't appear to have any particular method in mind. At least there didn't appear to be an obvious one she could figure out. Dewey was probably in constant motion in his grave.

The final bell chased most of the students out. First day of school no one under the age of eighteen wanted to stay any longer than necessary. Not that she could blame them. Holly would stay long enough for the first swim practice, but she was counting down the minutes until it was time to go home.

The thought of Derek brought a blush to her face, just as it had the other hundred times she thought about him over the course of the day. They never progressed to anything beyond good friends in high school, but only because Derek never showed any interest in dating her. He had plenty of opportunity. Junior high crush turned into a full on five year unrequited puppy love.

He hadn't changed much physically. A couple extra inches were added to his height since she saw him last. And he definitely packed on additional muscle mass, but his face was the same. And yet completely different.

The same olive green eyes that at times looked hazel, at times looked yellow, and at others looked like some mysterious color yet to be discovered and named.

The same bushy eyebrows that on anyone else might look ridiculous or like they needed a trim, but on him looked completely natural, and gave him a dark brooding sex appeal that should have been illegal.

The same chisel cut jaw only six years later covered with an unshaved scruff that made him look dangerous and delicious at the same time. The thought of the short kept beard sent heat to her cheeks and other areas of her body when she imagined it rubbing against her neck, her stomach, her thighs.

The same ability to inspire fantastical daydreams.

In high school they'd been much more innocent, for the most part. She used to imagine he would pick her up for school but instead of being all smiles and talking about the book they were reading for English he'd be quite and nervous. They'd pull into the school parking lot and he'd ask her to stay behind while Cora went inside. She would pretend to be surprised when he asked her to the Winter Formal or Prom depending on the season.

They'd go to the dance, have a wonderful time but they wouldn't stay for the entire thing. Instead he'd convince her to leave early so they could go for a drive. He'd take her up to Jessup's overlook where a he set up a tent earlier in expectation of the moment. She had imagined the night would be perfect. They'd share their first kiss under the stars. They'd be each other's firsts sexual encounter, and Derek would confess he was as madly in love with her as she was with him.

That particular bubble burst the morning Derek confided in her he had secretly been dating Kate Argent. That he had sex for the first time with Kate Argent. That he was in love with Kate Argent. Holly wanted to puke. She wanted to slap him. She wanted to yell at him how could he be in love with Kate when he was supposed to be in love with her.

But she was his best friend, so she did what a best friend was supposed to do. She'd been happy for him. Even if it was just on the outside.

Then the fire came and destroyed Derek and Laura's life.

The Derek left.

And that devastated Holly's life.

And now he was back.

But he wasn't the same. He was different. There was darkness in him now. She saw it last night in the car and this morning when he asked her to take him to the hospital. Derek always leaned more to the brooding, athletic scholar but this darkness was more than brooding. It was a heaviness. A weight that didn't exist before.

And damn if all the feelings Holly had for him didn't return.

A shiver chasing along her spine sent Holly ducking into the locker room. She needed to pull herself together before she stood in front of a dozen or so teenagers. She needed to focus. She needed to find where the blood was coming from.

Droplets, a few a first but soon multiple ones dotted the floor in front of the sink and ran in a trail around the corner to the lockers, accompanied by a smear across the wall.

"Hello?" she called out following the trail. "Is someone hurt in here?"

Holly rounded the corner expecting to find a student, or maybe just a dead ended trail. She stared at the body of the woman. A student maybe but she looked a little too old for high school. Of course none of that mattered. However old the girl or woman was, she would age no more. Her body was sprawled, propped haphazardly against the lockers. Blood soaked into her black shirt, her throat savagely destroyed.

Her hand flew to her mouth as she took several stumbling steps back and collided into the wall. She wouldn't scream. She wouldn't scream. A claw crawled from behind one of the lockers. Gripping and drumming a rat-a-tat-tat.

Holly screamed. Bolted. Turned and stumbled several steps. Tripped over one of the wooden benches bolted to the floor. Scrambled to her feet and flew through the door, yanking it open with enough force it crashed against the wall behind it. The hairs on the back of her neck stood as she ran down first one deserted hallway, turned and flew down another at top speed. She didn't dare look behind her. She didn't want to see the devil chasing.

* * *

"You're sure it was _this_ locker room?"

"Yes. Yes. For the hundredth time, yes."

Holly tried to keep her tone even keeled but if Sheriff Stilinski asked if she was positive one more time she might have to slap him. Or scream. Or both.

She didn't stop running until she reached the principal's office where she damn near heaved out a lung before composing herself enough to recant the story to Principal Thorne who immediately called the Sheriff.

Sheriff Stilinski made a complete circuit of the locker room. The locker room that not only didn't have any blood but didn't have a dead girl either.

"All right. Please go over, one more time what you saw."

Holly clenched her jaw, took in a breath and counted to ten as she breathed it out. She told herself the Sheriff was just doing his job. He wasn't placating her. His choice of words let her know even if he didn't believe her, he was convinced she believed it.

"I came in, I saw a few drops of blood on the floor there, and on the wall right here." She placed her hand in the corner to indicate the spot. "And when I came around here I saw her."

"The dead girl?" a female deputy with the name Graeme etched on the brass name plate asked, not bothering to hide her skepticism.

"No, Lady Gaga singing _Bad Romance_." Holly answered curtly. "Of course the dead girl."

"Then where is she?" she gave Holly a pointed look. "Dead women don't just get up and leave."

"I don't know," Holly stated rolling with the frustration. "She was lying right there. She was propped up against the locker and her throat was ripped out."

"Could it have been a dummy?" Principal Thorne offered. "The students have a very colorful sense of humor at times."

"It wasn't a dummy!" she finally snapped.

Holly knew he was only trying to help, they all were. Trying to understand how she could have possibly seen what she did when there was no trace of it left. But they weren't helping.

"I know what a body looks like. I've seen a dead body before and I'm telling you I saw her. She was propped up against the locker. She had a dark complexion with black hair, black pants, a black t-shirt and missing half her throat!"

"Ms. Williams please calm—"

"—There was blood on the floor and that wall…" and she paused turning her attention to where she'd seen the claws.

She left the claws out of her original version of the story. But she had seen them. Just as she had seen the body… that was no longer there. Just as the blood was no longer there. Holly stopped and concentrated on her breathing as she felt her anxiety levels spiking.

_Breathe, Holly. Breathe. In and out slowly._

Holly moved towards the door and stepped outside into the hallway, leaving the officials to their discussion as she mentally coached herself through the anxiety attack. She had been episode free for nearly two years. She'd been in Beacon Hill less than two months and they'd returned.

"Ms. Williams? Are you all right?"

She nodded to the sheriff and attempted to look as normal as possible. "I'm fine, I'm just… I'm not making this up, Sheriff Stilinski. I saw a young woman, dead, in that locker room." She gestured to the door. "I can't explain where she is now, or what happened to her, but I think there was someone else in the locker room."

"Did you see anything?"

Her mind flashed back to the claws. Or where they talons? Long and pointed, thick… no, they were claws and tipped red. No, stained with blood.

"Ms. Williams?"

She blinked and pulled her focus back to the sheriff. "I'm sorry, what?"

"Did you see anything? You said you thought there was someone else in the locker room."

"No," she lied and glanced back to the door. "I heard something, like a tapping or drumming. Like fingernails drumming. I didn't look I just ran."

"You said she was a black woman?"

"Yes, I don't know early twenties, maybe? She looked younger than me, but not by much."

"Did you notice if she had any other wounds or injuries?"

"I don't know," she shook her head. "Maybe, I didn't notice much other than," she gestured to her neck.

He nodded at that, jotted something down and closed his notepad. "Listen why don't you go home. If you think of anything else give us a call."

With a resigned nod, Holly glanced at the door one final time and quickly made her way to the nearest exit. By the time she reached the rental car she was using while hers got repaired her entire body was shaking.

It had been real. She had seen that body, that woman, tore apart. But where had she gone? She hadn't been gone that long. Not long enough for someone to remove a body _and_ clean up. Unless there was more than one. Even if there was, how could they have moved a body from a school in broad daylight and not be seen?

Holly winced as a stabbing pain shot through her chest. It felt like someone physically wrapped their fingers around her heart and started squeezing.

"Breathe, Holly," she ordered herself. "You're safe. This is your safe zone. Nothing can hurt you in your safe zone. Nothing can hurt you in your safe zone."

One deep breathe in with the words chanting the breath out. She repeated the words, chanting them softly, each time coming out just a bit slower than the previous until her breathing finally returned to normal. Until her heart no longer felt as if it were trying to literally make a break for it through her ribs.

Casting a glance to the dashboard clock, Holly groaned and flopped her head back against the head rest. She completely forgot about swim practice, which should have started forty minutes ago. Not for the first time she wondered what she was still doing in Beacon Hill. Nothing had gone right since she stepped back inside the city limits to bury her father.

"What's it mean when the best thing that's happened is hitting someone with my car?" she mused to the silence.

Tomorrow would be better, it had to be. It sure as hell couldn't get any worse. Wrapping the tattered remains of her dignity around her like an invisible cape, Holly opened the door and made her way back into the school. She would apologize to the team and promise to do better. They deserved better. Then she would go home and get ready for her dinner with Derek.

She would forget all about the body.

She would forget about the blood.

She would forget about the claws.

* * *

Being willfully dense turned out to only last so long.

The timer of the blocked memory expired the moment the sun set and left Beacon Hill to be blanketed by the light of the moon.

Every noise in the house caused her to jump and stop, listening to the pattern. Was it something tapping, or just her imagination? Eventually, Holly pulled herself together long enough to get ready. By the time she left, she'd almost convinced herself Thorne had been right. What if it had all been some elaborate prank by the students? Some type of first day teacher razzing. Assuming the students knew she would walk into that particular locker, at that exact time of day.

That, however, didn't make much sense. According to Holmes, once the impossible was eliminated whatever left, no matter how improbably was the answer. That left Holly with two choices.

Option A, there had been a murder and it had been covered up. The killer, or more likely killers had still been in the locker room when she entered. The claw she saw wasn't a claw but some sort of device they used to tear out the girl's throat. When she left one took the body and hid it while the other stayed behind and cleaned up the scene.

Option B, she was having hallucinations again. Maybe last night hitting Derek has triggered something, or broken something that had been fixed.

Holly pushed option B out of her head. She wouldn't accept it, even if it was the more likely scenario. Instead she turned her eyes towards the door and focused on Derek Hale's entrance.

She couldn't help but noticed the way other women in the restaurant noticed Derek. Not that she could blame them. He had a confident walk, almost a swagger to his movements. That he had no clue he was doing it or the resulting attention only added to his appeal. Holly found few things sexier, than an attractive man, indifferent about his looks. Just another Derek appeal she'd fallen in love with ages ago.

Some women glanced at him with appreciative looks. Others regarded him as if he were a tiger. Something beautiful and dangerous. Like they wanted to pet him but were terrified they might draw back a nub. Approachability had never been Derek's strong point, even before the fire burned away his life.

Derek's attention never wavered. From the moment he entered until he slid into the booth across from her, his green eyes remained focused on her. The slight, almost half frown he walked in with evaporated by the time he reached the table.

"What's wrong?" the question came out as soon as he settled in.

"Nothing."

The fib rolled easily from her lips, but Derek didn't look convinced.

"Call me crazy, but I don't believe…" his words trailed off when his hands reached across the table and took hold of hers. A deeper frown settled over his brow. "You're trembling like a leaf. Did something happen today?"

"You could say that. Maybe… I don't know." She pulled her hands away, instantly missing the warmth from his touch. "I don't want to talk about it here and you owe me a story so," she gestured for him to begin only to watch him stand from the booth.

"Come on."

"Excuse me?"

"Come on. We're going someplace where you can talk about it."

Holly stared at him and gestured towards the kitchen with her hand. "I already ordered our food."

"How'd you know what I wanted?"

"Seriously?" she gave him a pointed stare. "Every day after practice since freshman year you order the same thing. Unless you spontaneously became a vegetarian in the past six years you're getting two double burgers, a large fry and a coke." She spread her hands across the table in a gesture. "You're not that big of a mystery."

He smirked at that and flagged down a waitress. "My friend placed an order for the table. We're gonna need that to go. Also gonna need another two double burgers another large fry and another coke."

"You keep eating like that and you're going to lose the body of a Greek god and look more like a chubby little cherub."

"I think I'll survive," he teased and decided to lean against Holly's side of the booth instead of reclaiming his seat while they waited for the food. After a few moments he made a gesture for her to scoot in and sat next to her. "Besides the extra is for a friend."

"Huh," she nodded slightly. "Can anyone else see this friend?"

"He's real, not imaginary."

Holly gave what she hoped was a serious look. "I'm sure he's very real to you."

"You know, I don't remember you being such a smart ass."

"Better a smart ass than a dumb ass or a piece of ass."

The moment the words made it past her lips Holly felt a heated blush burn its way up from her neck to her ears and spread through her cheeks. It didn't help when Derek didn't just look at her, but pivoted his body so he could face her and stare at her more clearly. The waitress' timing couldn't have been better as she delivered a brown shopping bag filled with Styrofoam containers and a drink carrier filled with three cups.

Derek stood and fished his wallet out handing over two twenties and snatching up the shopping bag leaving the drinks for Holly.

"I didn't see your car," he stated as they headed towards the door.

"Loner," she motioned to the Ford across the street. "There were several huge; Derek sized dents in the last one."

"We'll take mine," he gestured to a black Camaro parked close to the corner.

"I can just follow you."

Derek stop mid stride, turned, and stared at Holly with a look she would have expected if she had suggested they both rip their clothes off and run naked down the street.

"Or we can just take yours."

He held the passenger door open for her before placing the food on the floor behind him and climbing in.

"Where are we going?"

"My place."

"Where's that?"

Derek smiled and slowly turned to study her. "You're about to find out."


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: As always the first thing I want to do is thank you all for following and/or favoriting my story. A special thank you to those that have left reviews! Not only do I enjoy hearing back from you all, but it helps inspire me to keep writing. All the feedback I've gotten is greatly appreciated.

Shell8bee gets a special shout out for giving me feedback on how she felt I handled Derek's voice in chapter two. And since no one has come back and told me I completely missed the mark on capturing his flow, I figured I'd try it again. :-O

I will be falling into a more standard weekly update. I may at times do two updates a week but that depends greatly on what time I have to write. When I can I'll certainly do two.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy, and please review! It really does help my creative juices since your reviews feed me like French fries and ice cream, but with none of the calories and guilt.

**POTENTIAL SPOILER ALERT FOR EPISODE 1**

Chapter 4 – Panic Attacked

They rode the distance to his loft in silence.

Not uncomfortable, but definitely stuffy. Holly's consciousness resided in a different world. On the occasions when he glanced at her from the corner of his eyes, or turned to watch her while idling at a stoplight she stared out the passenger window. Her left had held the drinks on her lap and kept them from spilling, while she propped her right elbow on the arm rest and tugged her bottom lip with her thumb and forefinger. Another of her tells. Holly was talkative, always had been. In the past, they'd carried on complete conversations where he only contributed a handful of words. Something bothered her to the point of silence. Silence usually meant she was upset.

Something bothered her. Which meant something bothered him.

It had been the second thing he noticed when he walked into the restaurant and his eyes found her. The first had been her.

He couldn't define the difference. Six years ago she'd been Holly. The sweet, if not slightly awkward girl, five months his junior, who spent more time at his house than hers because of her father. Mr. Williams mistakenly thought daughters were for pushing around, bullying and hitting, not protecting. And Mrs. Williams couldn't see past her own gilded cage to protect her daughter.

Since neither of her parents were up to the task, Holly became his to protect.

As they grew closer he grew more protective, but this felt different. Less duty bound and more instinctual, but that didn't make sense. She wasn't one of his wolves, she wasn't even a wolf, she was just Holly. With great legs that he found himself focusing on more often than he should. And she smelled amazing. Like the lilacs that used to grow outside his bedroom window on the trestle and something spicier… cinnamon or something… something driving him crazy and making his pulse beat faster.

Derek pushed the button to lower his window, gripped the steering wheel tighter and focused on the road instead of the bare thigh in the seat next to him. He dismissed the rousing desire as primal need. He'd been celibate for too long and something about her stimulated the wolf's craving to mate.

Would she let him if he tried? He pondered the question, glanced at her legs, and mentally chastised himself. Derek knew he didn't have time for the distraction, just as surely as he knew he needed the distraction. His problems were multiplying and becoming more complicated and difficult and his lack of answers to the mounting questions set him on edge. He needed to give his mind a break. Focus it on something else so he could come back clearer. Of course, that didn't mean focusing it on Holly's scent.

Slowing down, Derek turned off the street and into a short alley way. A few feet in he made another turn into the open first floor area that served as his garage.

"This is kinda shady, Derek."

"What?" Turning the motor off, Derek looked over at Holly as she spoke for the first time since getting into his car.

"This," she made a vague gesture out the windshield. "I'm just saying, the only reason I'm not about to ask why brought me to rape central is because I know you."

Derek started to reply only to quickly snap his mouth shut and stare at their surroundings.

"I live here."

The words finally left his mouth as he climbed out. With a quick motion to Holly, she followed him onto the lift. Two heartbeats echoed in the loft space they rose towards. One belonged to Isaac. He left the young wolf to finish recuperating. The other heartbeat belonged to his uncle. He hadn't been there when he left and he hadn't called. Which meant he came over uninvited.

Typical Peter Hale.

Except Derek really didn't feel like dealing with Peter's bullshit, not now. Especially not tonight.

"You live in an abandon warehouse?" Holly asked as they rode upward.

"I like the quiet and the open space."

"Derek Hale a squatter."

The amusement in her voice pushed a smile across his lips. As the elevator came to a stop he leaned in with his lips close to her ear, whispering, "Who says I'm squatting?"

His words punctuated by a gentle but quick pinch to her side as he brushed past her. Damnit he was flirting. Unintentionally, but still flirting. Derek gave a soft internal sigh and slid the heavy metal door open. Two sets of eyes turned to watch him and Holly enter. Isaac lay sprawled on the couch almost exact where he left him while Peter stood, arms folded, body half turned from the large bay window that overlooked the street. He probably watched them drive up.

"Well, well," Peter began as he turned fully to face them. "Look what the cat dragged in."

"Hi Mr. Hale."

"Oh, no… please. I insist all lovely young ladies call me, Peter."

Derek pressed his lips together and gave Peter his best, _back the hell_ _off_ look. In the event his uncle didn't get the interpretation, Derek moved to physically block Holly from his uncle's line of sight. It wouldn't last but hopefully Peter got that point. He gave his uncle a look that said one word loud and clear.

_Mine_.

"Who is she?" Isaac questioned studying Holly.

Despite her entering with Derek, he watched his pack mate trying to determine if she was friend or foe. Once he pulled one of the containers out of the bag he watched his pack mate struggle with which he was more interested in. Knowing the woman's identity, or the burgers. The burgers won, though Derek decided to satisfy his curiosity.

"This is, Holly. A childhood friend."

"Derek and Holly used to roll around in the grass together," Peter added with an amused smirk.

Derek narrowed his eyes and gave his uncle a warning look. "Holly, Isaac is a new friend."

Holly offered a smile and extended her hand to Isaac. "Nice meeting you."

"Likewise," his attention remained on her for long enough to shake her hand and quickly returned to the shopping bag.

"Brought you some dinner," Derek answered the unasked question.

Derek handed Isaac two of the five containers and gestured for him to take one of the cups from the holder Holly still held onto. The younger wolf regarded Holly again, and then gave another questioning look to Derek, who gave a subtle shake of his head. No, she didn't know about werewolves. No, she definitely didn't know he was a werewolf. Yes, he wanted to keep it that way.

"Little Holly, all grown up," Peter strolled around Derek and gave Holly a welcoming hug. "You grew up pretty. Just like your mother."

Derek didn't miss it. Hell none of the wolves in the room missed the quick uptick of Holly's heartbeat.

"Well I'm not her. My mother, that is. She's dead. She died, six years ago actually."

"I'm sorry to hear that. She was… a lovely woman."

Derek looked down, busying his fingers with laying out the other food. Her heard it again, a quickening of her pulse. Accompanied by strong feelings of anger

"Don't you have some research you're supposed to be doing, Peter?"

"Sounds like I've overstayed my welcome," Peter stated in mock secrecy to Holly.

"I'm gonna eat this upstairs," Isaac collected his meal and headed to the spiral steps. "Thanks Derek."

"Remember to practice safe sex kids," Peter offered on his way to the elevator.

Derek glared at his uncle's back before he disappeared behind the closed metal door. His impulse was to grab him by the back of the neck, toss him through the window and watch his body fall to the ground below. But he still needed Peter. Besides, he already killed him once. The man just refused to stay dead.

"I'm sorry about that," he offered to Holly once he heard the elevator engage and gestured for her to have a seat on the couch.

"No it's okay, considering all he's been through I guess he's bound to be…"

Derek smirked a bit. "…a bastard?" he supplied as she seemed to search for the right word.

"I was thinking eccentric."

"Bastard fits better."

"He um…" she gestured to her face where Peter's burn scars once rested. "He healed miraculously well."

"You saw him after the fire?"

"I went with my mother to visit him, almost every day for almost a month."

He knew he was frowning as he stared at Holly but he couldn't help it. "Why was your mother visiting Peter?"

"You didn't know either, huh?"

He took a bite of his first burger and shook his head.

"Your uncle and my mother had been having an affair."

The words triggered a quick spasm of his throat which nearly caused him to choke.

"Yeah that was pretty much my reaction when I found out. Apparently they'd been seeing each other for three years or something before the fire."

"That's…" he rubbed a hand back and forth over his hair, "Mildly disturbing."

She shrugged slightly. "It's really not that surprising. One thing I learned from living in Beacon Hill? Towns tend to have all types of twisted turns and skeletons in the closets."

Taking another bite of his burger, Derek opted to fill his mouth with food instead of words. Holly was of course right, but he doubted she had an inkling of just how many secrets were in Beacon Hill. Or how deeply they ran.

Holly finished eating first and settled back into the corner of the couch. He wished she would go back to her talkative self. He needed her to talk. It gave him something to focus on other than her scent, or her legs, or the spiral pattern her fingers made on the arm of the couch. Derek reminded himself she was a distraction from the larger problem at hand. A very pretty, soft, fleshy distraction… with the sweetest smile he'd ever seen from the Atlantic to the Pacific and all the spaces in between.

And she was terrified again. He smelled the spike of pheromones in the air.

Acting as civilized as possible he wiped his mouth with a napkin and piled the empty containers together. Holly gazed into the dark room across from the couch but he doubted she was looking at anything. She her mind drifted away from him again to someplace darker.

"Holly," he called her name softly and traced her ear with the tip of his index finger. "What is it?"

"It's a long story," she taunted with a half smirk despite the fear surrounding her.

"There's that smart ass again," Derek replied, raising both eyebrows as he regarded her with his own smile.

Holly left her sandals on the floor and pulled her legs up, tucking them under her body as she shifted on the couch to face Derek.

"I found a body at the school today."

"The school?" Derek tilted his head to the side slightly. "What school?"

"The high school."

"Beacon Hill High School?"

Holly rolled her eye and uncurled her left leg long enough to deliver a kick to Derek's thigh. "You know of another high school in Beacon Hill?"

Reflex caused Derek's hand to fly out, and his fingers to wrap around her ankle. The contact was fleeting. His fingers releasing almost as soon as they touched her skin as if they'd been seared by fire. But even the brief contact seemed enough to trigger a biological response.

"Really Derek?"

His eyes locked with hers, alarmed, surprised, and slightly embarrassed. He could feel his face turning flush. How the hell had she noticed that quick? Unless she'd been focusing on that area.

"Your take away from that sentence is the school?"

Relief flooded through his body. "I'm sorry, you just threw me being at the school." He decided to change tactics when Holly continued to stare at him as if she just caught him raising a crack pipe to his lips. "Did they identify her?"

"No," the stress levels returned to her voice. "By the time the police got there she was gone."

"What do you mean, gone?"

"I mean it in the traditional definition of the word. Body on the floor when I left. No body when I got back."

"Are you sure she was dead?"

"Yes," she nodded and held his gaze. "Half her throat was missing."

"But when the police arrived…"

"…Someone had taken her. So the police think it was a prank by one of the students. Or that I hallucinated or made it up or something."

Derek tilted his head and narrowed his eyes slightly. Something else was there, something missing. Holly had been resilient as a teenager, and if last night was any indication she didn't shed the trait as she passed into adulthood. Derek didn't believe for one second seeing a body, even one as badly shredded as she described would scare her to the point of physically shaking. Which mean something else happened that she hadn't shared.

"What else happened? What are you not telling me?"

"First I need to know that you believe me."

"I believe you."

"Derek, I'm not making… wait… what?"

"I believe you," he repeated.

"You do?"

"Why wouldn't I?"

"No one else does."

"Maybe because you didn't tell them what you're about to tell me."

She rolled her eyes and stood. She wandered to the window and wrapped her hands around her body. Rubbing her arms as if it would chase the chill away. Or maybe it was the memory she vigorously tried to get rid of. Derek managed to wait ten whole seconds before he pursued her. She was trembling again, and as he closed the space between them he wanted to touch her. He wanted to wrap his arms around her and promise he'd keep her safe. Promise that he would protect her and wouldn't let anything happen to her.

Instead he shoved his hands into the front pockets of his jeans.

"Holly?" he urged softly.

"Claws."

"What?"

"I saw claws," she repeated with more conviction. "I heard something, and when I looked up I saw four claws reach around from behind the locker. They were drumming, like…like they were waiting for something. Like they knew I was there."

The alphas. Derek swore internally. It had to be. And unless he completely missed his guess, the girl had been the one that helped Isaac. They'd gone to the school looking for the girl, but why had the girl gone to the school? What or who had she been looking for? Derek swore internally again when the answer hit him. She'd been looking for the only werewolf that currently went to Beacon Hill High. Scott McCall.

"Someone else was in that locker room. And they know that I was in there. And they know that I saw the girl."

"Did they see you?"

She shook her head. "I don't think so."

"Did you see them?"

"No, I just saw the claws, and I know, I know they couldn't have been claws because that would mean it was an _it_, not a he or a she, and I know it wasn't an animal because animals don't go around drum their fingers because they don't have fingers, and… they don't… go roaming… schools… or hiding… in… locker rooms after killing… girls…"

"Holly?"

Derek pressed his palms against her shoulders as her breathing grew staggered and erratic until the point of hyperventilation.

"Calm down. Holly."

He caught her as her knees buckled and eased her to the ground. She sat back on her knees, palms pressing against the floor as she panted and struggled to regain her breath. A struggle she seemed to be losing as her hyperventilation turned to ragged, desperate gasps for air.

"She's having a panic attack."

Derek snapped his attention to Isaac, barefooted and sitting at the top of the steps with his arms resting on his knees. He looked defeated as he watched them, as he watched Holly.

"I used to get them when my dad locked me in the deep freezer. Just get her to focus on something other than what triggered it."

"I don't know what trigger it," Derek bit the words out. "Holly? Holly?"

His impulse was to shake her but instinct told him that was probably the worst possible thing he could do. Shaking someone having a panic attack would hardly settle them down. Bending down behind her, Derek wrapped both arms around her waist and hoisted her up. He turned her body midair so he could cradle his arm behind her knees while he carried her to the bed.

She clung to him as she continued to breathe erratically. Arms tightly around his shoulders and neck, face pressed against his chest… even her body felt like she curled it against his. She refused to let go, even after he made it the short distance to the bed she continued holding onto him like sea star suctioned to the side of an aquarium.

"Comfort her, Derek," Isaac instructed, unmoved from his position. "You have to let her know she's gonna be all right. Even if she's not," he added softly.

With Holly subconsciously or consciously refusing to release him, Derek positioned himself in the middle of the bed, with his back resting against the headboard, and Holly curled on his lap. He rest one hand against her back and used the fingers of his other to smooth her curls away from her forehead and cheek.

"This is your safe zone," he heard her mutter softly, though the words were muddled against his chest. "Nothing can hurt you in your safe zone."

"That's right," he agreed softly. "I won't let anything hurt you."

The three of them sat there for a while.

Isaac on the steps with his head resting against the brick wall and his eyes fixed on the nearly full moon out the window.

Derek with his back against the headboard, legs stretched out in front and crossed at the ankles. Occasionally he whispered reassuring words to her, but as the minutes passed and she slowly relaxed more and more his words gave way to silence and he used his touch to convey her safety. He continued to cradle her on his lap, his right hand resting with his fingers lightly curled against her hip. His left thumb under her hair, lazily moving in a circular pattern.

And Holly. She started off with every muscle bunched and coiled, clinging to Derek as if he were the last life preserver, and holding onto him meant the difference between living and drowning. Slowly the tension left her body until she reclined limply against him.

He could tell she wasn't sleep, her breathing lacked the deep patterns indicative of slumber, but she hadn't moved. Not that Derek cared. He could have sat there all night holding her, standing, or sitting guard as it were. She felt warm. She felt comforting. Everything about holding her felt right. Like it was the most natural thing in the world to do. Derek realized for the first time in years, he felt… content.

"What time is it?"

Holly's voice finally broke the silence in a whisper. The question caused the first stir of motion since he settled them on the bed as he fished the phone from his back pocket.

"Almost eleven."

"It's late," she spoke after a resigned sigh. "I should go home."

"Stay here."

Holly sat up abruptly. Her gaze locked with his and less than six inches away. The request surprised her as much as it surprised him.

"I'll sleep on the couch," he added after they continued to stare at each other for what felt like another hour.

"I can't."

"Yes, you can."

"All right, fine. I shouldn't."

"Why?"

"We can start with how completely embarrassed I am after freaking out in front of you and Isaac."

"You saw a girl with her throat ripped out, and you're scared whoever killed her saw you and they might try to kill you because they think you can identify them. How am I doing so far?" he asked in a faux whisper.

"The nail's flush against the wall."

"I'm pretty sure freaking out is a normal reaction."

"Thanks," she pulled back and made a crawling transition from his lap to the bed. "And your bed is pretty huge, you don't have to sleep on the couch. Besides, I trust you."

He missed the warmth of her body as soon as she moved. Resisting the urge to pull her back only became possible once he stood.

"Stay here while we figure something out. Tomorrow you can pick up a few things from your place."

He leaned down and cupped her cheek with his hand and pressed a kiss to her forehead. He told himself the only reason he touched her face was to keep her still for the duration of the kiss. Not so his thumb could stroke her skin

"I'll get you something to sleep in."

Holly began reclining against the bed but soon sat back up. "I need to get my car."

"Where are you keys?"

"In my purse."

"I'll take Isaac. He can drive it back."

"And suddenly I'm glad it's a rental. No offense, Isaac," she offered the teenager a smile.

Isaac tried, but his look of reassurance left plenty to be desired.

* * *

"Who is she again?" Isaac questioned as soon as the elevator was in motion.

"I told you. A friend."

"What kind of a friend?"

"And old friend."

"What kind of an old friend?"

"One that's not new."

"Do you trust her?"

"With my life."

"Does she know about you?" he continued the questions as they walked from the elevator toward the Camaro.

"Nope."

"Is it a good idea to have her staying here?"

"Probably not."

"Then why—"

"—Because she's my friend, Isaac." Derek stopped and faced the kid over the roof of his car. "When we were kids I promised her I'd be there for her, that I'd always protect her. When my family was murdered I broke that promise. Now she's back, I'm back, and I plan to do everything in my power to make sure she stays safe and I can't do that if she's on the other side of the city."

Isaac stared at him as slow realization sunk in. "You think the murdered girl she saw is the one I told you about."

"You're thinking the same thing."

"Which means the alphas killed her."

Derek pressed his lips together grimly and gave a nod. He knew the subject of the girl was touchy for Isaac. She'd saved his life and he hadn't been able to return the favor. Guilt ate away at him. Guilt was a very familiar feeling.

"You think they were still in the locker room? That they were the ones that Holly saw?"

"And that they saw her."

His young pack mate finally relented with twenty questions long enough to get into the car. Once behind the wheel, Derek headed out but his destination wasn't downtown to Holly's car. At least not right away.

"Where are we going?"

"The school."

"Why?" Isaac asked as he shifted uncomfortably.

The kid was scared and he had good reason to be. Isaac went up against the alphas and barely made it back. He had no recollection of what happened before the girl showed up and helped him escape. His memories muddled and removed. Derek hoped his plan worked, otherwise he might have to resort to more drastic measures.

"You're the only one that has a connection with the girl," he began as he pulled his car into the school parking lot. "If you're at the place she died, there's a chance you might be able to pick up something."

"Like what?" Isaac looked at him questioningly.

"Like maybe see the last moments before she was killed."

Isaac frowned but followed Derek around the back of the school. Derek liked Isaac, could feel himself getting attached to the young man. When he first bit him, it had been mostly selfish reasons, though Isaac had been carefully selected because of his father. Derek needed to build his pack, but more than anything he considered the bite a gift. And like all gifts, the more deserving the person the more they appreciated it. He thought they would be grateful, he thought they would be loyal, he'd been wrong.

Derek couldn't ignore the fact that Boyd and Erica had been captured in the midst of deserting their pack. If they hadn't left him, they wouldn't have been in the woods. If they hadn't been in the woods, the alphas wouldn't have had the chance to grab them. Unfortunately, Derek realized something else as well. They deserted because of him.

Boyd and Erica left because they were scared, because they didn't feel safe. Because he didn't make them feel safe. If he'd been a stronger leader, a better leader, Boyd and Erica might not be missing. Derek wanted so much to be like his father, strong, noble, the kind of man that others looked up to. But he found the harder he tried to be that man, the shorter he fell from his goal.

"She was here," Isaac confirmed once they were inside.

The beta moved quickly pausing long enough to pick up the scent again before jogging up the steps.

"Hey Derek?"

"Yes."

"Can I ask you something?"

"If I say no are you going to ask anyway?"

"Probably," Isaac offered an apologetic look and Derek made a vague continue gesture as they moved down the hallway. "Well, see I was just thinking…"

"Just ask whatever it is you're want to ask, Isaac."

"Why would Deucalion care if Holly saw him? He doesn't strike me as the kind of guy that really gives a rat's ass about witnesses."

"He wouldn't hurt her because she saw him. He would hurt her because of me."

"I don't get it. How would he know she's a friend of yours?"

"Remember I told you I got away from the alphas because I got hit by a car last night?"

"Yeah."

"Holly's the one that hit me."

For some reason, that amused Isaac to the point of laughter. "No way… oh… um…" the laughter died away in the face of Derek's stony stare.

"Deucalion's smart enough to put it together. And he's psychotic and fanatical enough to use her to get to me."

"Right," Isaac nodded and cleared his throat as they approached the locker room.

"Is this it?"

"Yeah."

The smell of blood and bleach assaulted Derek's nose as soon as he pushed the door open. Isaac peaked over his shoulder and followed behind him, both wolves entering the locker room. Someone had definitely died inside the room.

"What am I supposed to do?" Isaac questioned timidly stepping around his alpha.

Derek gestured for Isaac to have a seat on the wooden bench, positioning himself behind the beta.

"Use your senses," he instructed. "Hear her. Smell her. Pick up her vibrations.

As he spoke he stepped back, distancing himself from Isaac, from potentially interrupting the pattern. Chances were it wouldn't work, at least he'd never heard of a bitten wolf connecting with the dead the way birth wolves could. But the worst thing that would happen… it wouldn't work.

"She was hear," Isaac confirmed. "She was afraid."

Derek continued to stand back, arms folded over his chest. So far, Isaac told him nothing they didn't already know. Holly's story confirmed she'd been there, and only a fool wouldn't have been afraid of Deucalion.

"Concentrate, Isaac. Listen, what do you hear?"

"I… I…"

Eyes closed, Isaac stood and moved closer to a set of lockers. The closer he got, the slower he moved as if reluctant to finish the journey but driven to complete it. He stopped less than three feet away and slowly sank to his knees, his hand reaching up at the same time, reaching out to brush his fingers against the wall.

The terrified scream ripped from his throat at the moment of contact.

Derek leapt into action, grabbing Isaac around the shoulders and yanking him back. But even then the wolf continued screaming. His irises glowing yellow as the wolf fought to come to the surface.

"Isaac!"

Derek pushed his beta to the ground and let his own wolf up to the surface. Just enough to color his eyes. Just enough to put that growl of authority into his voice and pull Isaac from the embrace of the ghost and back to the present.

Terrified, he blinked and stared up at Derek with a petrified expression.

"It's okay."

"I didn't see anything," Isaac confessed. "I didn't see anything I just felt pain."

Careful to keep anything that resembled emotion from bleeding into his face, Derek stood and reached a hand down to his beta. Isaac hadn't gotten an impression, he gotten a death possession. Interesting but not particularly helpful.

"It's okay, Isaac," he repeated. "There's something else we can try."

"Yeah?" he looked doubtful, but his voice sounded hopeful.

"There might be a way to access the memories they stole from you last night."

"How's it work?"

"I don't really know."

"Then how are you gonna do it?"

"I'm not."

Derek made his way back to the door, pulled it open and gestured for Isaac to exit.

"The who is?"

"Peter."

For a moment, Isaac looked like he might start screaming all over again.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Hey, hey! Thank you so much for the reviews. You gals are truly awesome. I'm really glad you're enjoying the story, and if there's something you would like to see more of let me know. I know a couple of you have mentioned you enjoy the Isaac and Peter interactions so I'll try to include those in future chapters.

Also thank you for the follows and the favorites.

This chapter gives a bit of background and insight into Derek and Holly's relationship as twelve year olds, as well as dropping a few hints into their future. Hopefully you all will like it, I kinda had fun writing it out!

As always I hope you enjoy, and feedback, of course, is greatly appreciated.

So... chiarigirl asked a question in her review, but instead of sending he a message I figured I'd answer it here, since others might be wondering the same thing.

Question: If Holly was Derek's best friend why doesn't she know about werewolves?

Answer: With the exception of the Argents and Deaton, it doesn't seem like anyone in Beacon Hills knew/knows the Hales are werewolves. Theoretically my assumption is the family would work to keep this a secret (less people that know the less they are in danger), which would include friends of the children. In addition I'm assuming they are all born wolves, so they'd be able to control their shift... add just make sure Holly isn't around during the full moon and voila! (sorry it's a bit longer winded than I planned but hopefully that makes sense).

**POTENTIAL SPOILER ALERT FOR EPISODE 2**

Chapter 5 – Safe Zone

Twelve years ago…

Holly tossed first one, and then another pebble at the closed window before whispering as loud as she could.

"_Derek."_

_She looked down to the palm of her hand. Five pebbles left. If he didn't wake up, she'd have to try something else. Or see if the school was open. It was that or sleep out in the woods. One thing she knew, she couldn't go back home. She licked her bottom lip, winced, and tossed another stone at the now open window…_

"_Ow."_

_Holly dropped the rest of the stones and covered her mouth to stifle the giggle. "Sorry, I was trying to wake you."_

"_Mission accomplished," he grumbled rubbing his forehead. "Why are you trying to wake me up?"_

"_Can I come up? Please?"_

_Derek looked over his shoulder into his room, and then turned back to the window and made a gesture for her to climb up the trestle._

"_Be careful."_

_Holly grinned and moved to the wooden trestle covering part of the house. It stopped short of the window, but where the trestle stopped, Derek leaned down. Half his body extended out the window as he reached his hand to Holly and helped pull her up the rest of the way._

"_What's wrong?" he asked in a soft whisper once she was safely inside._

"_I couldn't sleep."_

"_So you came all the way here?"_

_Holly gave a non-committal shrug._

"_Through the woods because you couldn't sleep."_

"_Can I sleep here?"_

"_I thought you couldn't sleep," Derek pointed out as he flipped on the bedside lamp._

_Holly flinched when the light came on, but she didn't bother hiding her face. He'd see it eventually anyway. Still it hurt to have Derek look at her when she knew what she looked like. She'd seen her reflection in the glass of a store front. Bottom lip swollen and split down the middle. Her right cheek bruised and red, and streaks down her face from the path tears created._

_Derek staring at her with the expression on his face growing angrier by the passing second caused the tears to return._

"_Why does my father hate me?"_

_She turned away from Derek. It was one thing for him to see her with her face all beat up, but another entirely for him see her crying._

"_It's okay, Holly. Don't cry."_

"_It's easy for you to say," she sniffled. _

_She tried to wipe away the liquid dripping from her nose and eyes but she jerked her arm away the sleeve of her denim jacket caught her lip._

"_Your family loves you. Your mom and dad love you. You sisters love you. Even your aunts and uncles and cousins love you."_

"_Your mom and dad love you."_

"_No they don't. He hates me, he told me so tonight. He said he wished I'd never been born."_

_She sniffled again and flopped down on Derek's bed, angrily wiping the tears away with the palm of her hand._

"_I love you," Derek offered as he sat next to her._

"_No you don't."_

"_How do you know?"_

"_Because… you're a boy."_

"_So?" Derek smirk slightly, "You're my best friend."_

"_I can't be your best friend."_

"_Why not?"_

"_Because a girl and a boy can't be best friends they can only be boyfriend, girlfriend."_

"_That's stupid. My dad said his best friend is his sister and she's a girl."_

"_She's related. That's different."_

_Holly sighed and rested her elbows on her knees so she could prop her chin against her knuckles. Maybe she could run away and join the circus or go to New York and be discovered as a child model. She wasn't pretty, but she was tall for a twelve year old. And not all models were drop dead gorgeous._

_But New York was so far away._

"_Do you have any money?" she questioned and looked over at Derek._

"_Why?"_

"_I'm gonna run away to New York."_

"_That's a stupid idea. If you run away, I have to go with you and my parents would find us. Besides if we run away, we'll have to live in the streets."_

"_I hate it here, Derek," she stated softly, her voice barely above a whisper. "No matter what I do, it's not good enough for him. Living on the streets can't be any worse than living in my house."_

_Derek brows furrowed together as he fell into a deep concentration. With his shoulders hunched forward and chin resting on one knuckle he reminded Holly of the thinking man statue they saw in their history book._

"_I got an idea."_

_Crossing to his desk, he slid the drawer open and removed his a small pocket knife._

"_Hold this."_

_As soon as Holly took the knife he went to his bedroom door, pressed his ear against it, cracked it open, and peaked into the hallway before slipping out. When he returned he carried a small glass filled with water._

"_Knife," he requested holding out his hand._

"_What are you doing?" Holly questioned and handed the knife back._

"_You'll see. Give me your hand."_

"_Why?"_

"_Just give me your hand," he demanded slightly impatient._

"_Why?" she repeated the question with her own impatience._

"_Do you trust me?"_

_Holly hesitated as she looked from Derek's stoic expression to the knife in his hand. She wanted to know what he planned to do but Derek wasn't one to really explain his actions. He'd rather his actions explain themselves in the results._

"_Yes," she finally sighed. "I trust you."_

"_Then…" _

_With his hand held out in an unwavering demand, Holly finally placed her palm in his. She wasn't surprised when he turned it over, or when he opened the knife and drove the point against the tip of her index finger hard enough to break the skin. He held her finger over the glass and left three drops of her blood drip into the clear liquid. He repeated the action on himself, stabbing his finger and dripping exactly three drops of blood in._

"_Why three?" she asked watching their blood dissolving and mixing into the water._

"_I don't know. I heard dad and Uncle Peter talking one day, they said it had to be done in threes for the full moon and the two nights surrounding it."_

_Derek picked the glass up and raised it to his eyes, swirling it around a bit. Satisfied he saw whatever he was supposed to he drank from it, draining half the contents._

"_Now you finish it."_

"_You want me to drink your blood? Ew."_

"_It's your blood too."_

"_Yeah. And that makes it any less gross? I don't think so."_

"_Do you want to be my blood sister or not? If you're my blood sister you can be my best friend, and then you'll have someone who loves you."_

_Hesitantly, Holly took the glass and stared into the contents. She couldn't see the blood anymore, and the liquid was still clear. Maybe it wouldn't taste too bad. Closing her eyes she downed the contents in three quick gulps._

"_See?"_

"_I don't feel any different," she pointed out, setting the glass on the desk._

"_You're not supposed to feel anything," he sighed, rolling his eyes and turning the lamp off._

_His room fell back into darkness, save the moonlight spilling in through the windows. Holly took her shoes and jacket off and shivered as the cool night air hit her naked arms. Besides her jacket and shoes she didn't grab any clothing before she left, just darted out of her house in the pajamas she slept in._

"_I'm cold."_

"_Here," Derek opened his dresser and pulled out a sweater handing it to Holly. "Put this on."_

_With the warm sweater in place, Holly climbed into the bed and tunneled under the covers._

"_You can have the pillow," Derek offered pulling the covers up over both of them and using his arm to pillow his head._

"_Thanks Derek. Good night."_

"_Good night, Holly. I'll have my dad talk to your dad in the morning. Don't worry, it'll be okay. I'll protect you from now on."_

* * *

Something woke her, but as consciousness slowly returned, Holly had no idea what exactly it had been. She was aware of am unfamiliar weight resting on her waist and something generating heat in front of her. The weight lifted, something brushed feathery soft against her cheek, and the weight returned. Gradually settling over her body again. That had been what pulled her from the depths of sleep.

Holly blinked several times as she gradually opened her eyes to find herself staring into Derek's. When she wanted to tease him, she referred to him as chameleon eyes. From a distance, pinpointing their coloring turned into a guessing game. They always appeared to take on the color of whatever shirt he happened to be wearing at the time. Up close the color was easy to determine. The edges closest to the whites of his eyes started off a green so dark it rivaled the forest but immediately lightened to more of an olive hue the further in they went, until they met with a hazel almost brown in a sunburst surrounding his irises.

"What time is it?" Holly stretched her body but made no attempt to leave the comfort of his bed and the warmth his body provided.

He wasn't quite touching her. Folds from the way the blankets lay the only thing separating them.

"Daytime," he answered with a cocky grin.

"I can see that. You need a clock."

"I have one on my phone."

"Which is?"

"On the table."

"Lot of good it's doing over there. It feels like seven," she offered softly. "I usually wake up around seven."

"So does that mean I didn't wake you?" he spoke in barely a whisper. The weight of his arm shifted as his fingers crawled and settled over her hip.

"No."

"Liar," he breathed the word on a grin and closed the distance between them long enough to press his lips against her forehead.

"I was answering your next question."

"And what was my next question?"

"Did I mind?"

Holly watched something shifting behind his eyes. The teasing melting away as something much more intense settled in. She wanted to pinch herself but she didn't dare. If she was dreaming she never wanted to wake up. For years, she imagined what it would be like to wake in the arms of Derek Hale. Did he realize what he was doing? She'd heard of people sleepwalking and sleep-eating, was there such a thing as sleep-kissing?

"I won't hurt you Holly."

"Promise?"

He didn't answer her with words. At first, Holly thought Derek was moving closer, it took her a minute to realize he slipped the hand from her hip against her back and was pulling her towards him.

The first kiss was soft and fleeting. For a moment she thought she imagined it, quickly followed by panic. Did he not like it? All these years she'd been waiting to be kissed by Derek and she'd blown her chance. Realization settled in as to why he pulled back. The kiss had been a question, a request for permission. He was watching her. Waiting for her to make the next move.

He didn't need much encouragement. She barely angled her face up to his when his mouth crashed down on hers again.

What started as just the pressing of lips grew more intense and hungry. With his teeth he nipped at her bottom lip, playfully tugging until she parted her lips enough for him to deepen the kiss and ravage her mouth.

Her lips, her mouth, her entire body felt like it was slowly being consumed in a furnace. His tongue touched her, caressed her, devoured her from the lips down. Each stroke awakening a passion that sent bolts of desire through every nerve in her body.

Eternity passed with him exploring her mouth before abandoning it in search of new parts of her body to taste. He burned kisses along her jaw, his chosen pathway to her neck. Finally, he removed his hand from her back so he could push her onto it. Both of his hands gripping her hips through the material of the blanket.

Holly turned her head to the side, exposing as much of her throat and shoulder to the onslaught as she could. The feel of his teeth nipping against her skin caused her to catch her bottom lip between her own teeth to keep from crying out, but she was sure the hitch in her breathing assured him his lips were on the right path.

Cold water flowed over both of them in the form of Isaac clearing his throat at the top of the stairs.

"Oh my god," she whispered as she felt her entire body flush with embarrassment.

"Don't move," Derek murmured into her air.

He pulled away from her, quickly flinging the covers to the side and bounding up the steps two at a time. Holly stayed in bed long enough to confirm Derek and Isaac were speaking. She couldn't make out what they said to each other, not that it mattered. The feeling that she'd won the best prize at the carnival warred with utter and complete mortification.

Holly scrambled from the bed, grabbed her clothes, and ducked into the bathroom. She traded out the sweatpants and tee shirt of Derek's that constituted her sleepwear, for the wrap dress she wore to last night's date.

It took her several moments of gathering her courage to raise her eyes to meet the reflection in the mirror. For several beats of her heart, all she could see was the reflection of Derek's large green eyes. Open and vulnerable, filled with pain and guilt. The pain she understood. All he had left had been Laura and according to the gossip scuttling around Beacon Hills she'd been violently murdered. For a while he'd been the prime suspect which just proved the town didn't know him at all. If they did, they would have known Derek would die before he hurt anyone in his family. Family meant more to him than life, and when he lost the bulk of his he almost died.

Holly bent over the sink and splashed cold water onto her face. She used a paper towel to dap her skin dry, and looked in the mirror again to study her reflection. She looked rested at least. The exterior a complete contrast to the bundle of nerves she felt inside. Thirty-six hours. That's all it took to turn her life on its ear.

Breathing out quickly Holly exited the bathroom to find Derek moving barefooted from the stairs to what passed for the kitchen area, though she used the term extremely loosely. She saw no refrigerator, no freezer, no stove or oven. Just counter top space, a sink, and a single metal table set in the middle. Derek watched her as he began fiddling with a box of breakfast bars. His eyes followed her movement to the couch as she collected her purse and shoes.

"Thought I told you not to move," he spoke softly still watching her with a heated predatory gaze that sent bolts of anticipated pleasure dancing along every never of her body and converging at her sex.

"I have to go to work."

"Were you planning on going home first?"

"That is where I keep my clothing."

The barest of frowns flashed over Derek's features, paused there and disappearing. If Holly blinked she would have missed it.

"I need you to not go to your house unless I'm with you."

"Wh—"

"And I need you to not ask me why right now. I'll explain everything later."

"Later when?"

Derek hesitated, "I just need you to trust me, Holly."

With a soft sigh Holly pulled an elastic band from her purse and used it to secure her hair into a haphazard bun.

"Derek what are you into? Is it something illegal?"

He pressed his lips together and folded his arms over his chest.

"Is it something dangerous? And illegal?"

"It's not illegal," he finally answered.

"But it's dangerous?"

Again he didn't answer.

"Derek!"

"Holly it's complicated."

"Does it have anything to do with why you're staying in an abandon warehouse loft? Or why you were running around in the woods last night? Or what attacked you in the woods last night? Yeah, I know about that," she replied to his surprised look. "Cars don't scratch people, not in a linear pattern."

Derek moved towards her. For a moment Holly felt the inexplicable impulse to retreat from his approach. She stopped herself before her body reacted. This was Derek. The same man that less than ten minutes ago aroused yearnings in her body that she hadn't thought possible with just a kiss.

He placed his palms against her shoulders. His movements slow as if he knew she contemplated running and wanted to give her the option to back away before he touched her.

"Do you trust me?"

"Why do you keep asking me that?"

"Because it's important that you do. It's important that you know I would never do anything to hurt you."

Holly met his gaze, searched his eyes and pulled away from him. She couldn't think with him so close, smelling like pine cones and amber, or with that intense gaze trapping her feet to the ground. She couldn't concentrate on his words or being mad at him when all she thought about was the feel of his lips.

"You have a week, Derek," she informed picking her keys up from the table. "And while you're playing true confessions I want to know why you kissed me."

"You didn't like it?"

Holly didn't bother answering him. Judging by his tone and the smug look on his face, the question had been completely rhetorical.

"I'm going to be late for work."

"Holly…"

She made it to the metal door when she felt him touched her. Unlike earlier, when he touched her this time she pulled back, rolling his shoulder and pushing his hand away.

"What Derek?"

"Meet me here after work? I'll take you back to your place so you can pick up some things."

Holly scoffed softly. "You know, you've got some balls, I'll give you that."

"Holly. Please just—"

"All right, I'll come back here. To an abandon industrial complex. Right after I stop at the hospital for a tetanus shot."

When she turned to leave a second time, he didn't try to stop her.

* * *

Concentration, Holly determined, was not on the agenda for the day. Eating hadn't made the cut either, as evident by her untouched sub on the table. Her mind refused to stop spinning between the past days' events. Lingering on some longer than others, like kissing Derek this morning. The feel of his lips against hers, the security the weight of his provided. Both gave her pause, but neither made her pulse race like the memory of his tongue's wordless seduction.

Inevitably, the intimate memories gave way to the stone wall he put up. What had he gotten mixed up in and exactly how dangerous was it? And of course, there was the body. Somehow the body she found managed to take a backseat in the past twelve hours. Ironic, since it was the reason she was staying with Derek. An idea that no longer seemed entirely appealing.

"I wasn't sure if you'd be back."

A few blinks brought Holly back to reality to find Adrian standing next to her table.

"I'm sorry?"

"I heard about yesterday."

"Oh," she sighed softly, "Right."

"It never ceases to amaze me what the students here think passes as a joke. Mind if I join you?"

"No, please," she made a gesture to the chair across from her.

"You look like you could use some company."

"Oh, well, you know, new," she offered a smile and released the necklace she's been rubbing her fingers against. "Haven't had a lot of opportunities to make a lot of friends yet."

He smiled at her. A gesture she was sure should have put her at ease but made her skin crawl. "I hope you consider me a friend."

"To be honest I still see you as my chemistry teacher."

"Perhaps we can work on that in the near future."

"Sure," Holly agreed in as neutral a voice as she could muster. One that she hope Adrian took as subtle ignoring his suggestive tone. Just about the last thing she wanted was whatever it might have been Adrian Harris was suggesting.

"That's an interesting pendant. May I see it?"

Holly looked down, touched the pendant in question, and reached behind with both hands to unfasten the chain. There was only a moment of hesitation before she place it in his outstretched palm.

"This is a very intriguing item. Is it of a wicker man?"

Her gaze locked with his surprised. "Yes, actually it is."

"Are you aware the druids used wicker men as—"

"—As sacrifices?" she completed with a nod. "I know."

"A bit of a cryptic item to wear don't you think?"

That time when her gaze locked with his, her eyes narrowed just a touch. With an elbow resting on the table, Holly held her hand out for the pendant's return.

"It belonged to my mother." She stopped herself short of snatching the necklace back and continued speaking as she fastened it around her neck again. "It's been passed down from parent to child for generations and it's the only thing I have left that belonged to her and her side of the family."

It mad her angry, that she felt the need to justify herself or her family to Adrian.

"Does that mean you are descended from druids?"

"I don't know. Maybe, I never really thought about it."

"Really?" he gave a nonchalant shrug. "A fascinating group of people. I'm surprised you've not attempted to learn more about them, especially considering…"

Holly continued to stare at him while he snacked on his yogurt. One eyebrow slightly raising when he failed to continue.

"Especially considering what?"

He stared at her with a smug smirk. "Your mother's maiden name, it's from the Tuatha Dé Danann race."

"The what?"

The smug look grew to a point where Holly had visions of reaching across and slapping it from his face. Instead of eating his yogurt, he grabbed a pen and wrote something on a napkin. A napkin he pushed across the table to her.

"Tuatha Dé Danann?" she repeated slowly trying to butcher the words as little as possible.

"Very good," he encouraged with a smile. "You have a naturally talented tongue."

Holly's frown returned. Partially at the confusion of the words she stared at, but mostly because of Adrian. "What does my mother's maiden name have to do with this race?"

"That's for you to find out, isn't it? Though I will be willing to discuss it more with you after school today."

"I, um, I can't today," she stammered slightly. "I have practice."

"And after practice?"

"Meeting friends… old friends for dinner."

"How about tomorrow?"

The bell rang and Holly nearly bolted from her seat. Saved by the proverbial sound. "Tomorrow evening is our first meet. But, um, definitely later, in the week, maybe."

"How about Saturday night?"

"Um… yeah, maybe, um, we'll see… I really need to go. I'll… see you later."

She exited quickly skirting her way around the students to the room serving as the library. Had she really just agreed to a date with Adrian on Saturday? No… no. she couldn't have. She wouldn't have said yes to him, would she? Holly groaned softly, rested her elbows on her desk and cradled her head.

"Excuse me?"

Holly looked up to find two teenagers, one with long strawberry blonde hair, the other a taller brunette with shorter hair.

"Hi girls," despite the budding headache, Holly pushed a smile to her lips. "How can I help you?"

"We need two copies of the Crucible," announced the redhead.

"High demand," she offered with that same smile. "Must be on the reading list. Give me five minutes to round two up."

Holly stood and made her way towards the boiler room where she'd grabbed the other copies from earlier in the morning. She glanced at her watch as she moved down the hallway. Four more hours. That's when her reprieve would be up and she'd have to face Derek again.

Six hours since the initial onslaught and she was no closer to untangling the twisted cord of emotions. She doubted another four hours would make a difference.

Was someone really after her, or was she over reacting?

Even better questions… would being with Derek put her in less danger or more?


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Hello readers! Thank you so much for the reviews, reading what you guys think about my story is one of the highlights of my day and as a writer makes me feel good down to the bones. I like writing, and I'm loving this story, so the fact that you guys are enjoying it really means a lot. And getting that feedback is awesome.

For those that are following and those that have favorited my story thank you too! I would love for you guys to leave reviews as well, but I'm thrilled you guys like my story enough to be notified when I make an update. I truly hope you enjoy the chapters that are coming and the direction the story takes. I'm also delighted you guys like Holly! =)

**To Guest and Mrs. Alexandra-Hale:** Thanks for the feedback about the flashback! I hadn't decided one way or another if I was going to have more or not, but since you enjoyed them so much, guess what? There will be more. Look for the next one in Chapter 8.

**MsRose91:** I will neither confirm or deny those allegations ;-) but this chapter might! Lemme know what you think.

As always folks, enjoy this chapter. Review and let me know what you think. Let me know if there's something you want to see more of, or less of. I'm not promising I'll do it, but I might be able to work it in. I generally know what I'm doing for the next chapter, but the rest is hinged on the episodes and what the muse tells me.

**POTENTIAL SPOILER ALERT FOR EPISODE 2**

Chapter 6 – Visions

"There's a body, it's Erica. Doesn't leave a lot of room for interpretation."

Stiles' words repeated in Derek's head as he sat in his Camaro in the makeshift parking area of the warehouse. They were convinced she was dead. Stiles, Isaac, Scott, Deaton, all of them. But Derek refused to believe it. They didn't know, not for certain. Not when Isaac said there was a girl locked in the vault with Boyd. Erica was the only girl in his pack, it had to be her.

He glanced at his phone hoping he might have missed the call from Stiles letting him know they found out how the vault had been breached. Minutes he gloated confidently. So far ninety of them had already passed. He wondered exactly how many more minutes it would take.

In-action equaled sitting around and waiting.

Derek hated waiting. Relying on others had never been a strong suit of his either. Now he had no choice but to do both, at least where the bank vault was concerned. Fortunately he had another focus to expel his pent up energy on.

Climbing out of his car, Derek closed the distance to place his palm on the hood of Holly's rented Impala. The heat from the engine faded, but not by much. She'd been ahead of him by thirty minutes at the most, probably less.

He wouldn't go as far as saying Holly was pissed, but she was definitely annoyed. Not that she didn't have a right to be, but he didn't have a lot of options either. If he told her the truth, she'd no doubt run screaming. But if he lied to her… he wasn't even sure he could lie to her, she might never speak to him again. Being vague was one thing; lying something completely different.

Even with taking the stairs all the way to the loft, Derek hadn't broken a sweat as he pulled open the large metal door. A few changes had taken place since he left hours ago. Nothing drastic, but definitely noticeable. Like the portable camping stove top that sat on one of the counters. The dish rack, complete with drying dishes that rested next to the sink so the water could drain into the basin. Various sized pots arranged neatly on a metal cart nestled in one of the corners of the kitchen. And a large metal clock already hung on the wall across from the bed.

Holly sat cross-legged in the center of the couch reading what looked to be one of his ancient books. At his entrance, her eyes shifted from the pages of the book to watch him.

"Making yourself at home," Derek teased.

"If you're going to insist I stay here for any amount of time, I'm going to be comfortable. Even if I still feel like I'm camping indoors."

She wasn't mad, but she wasn't thrilled with him either. But she hadn't gone home, which meant he had one less thing to worry about. Still, he was no closer to knowing how to reveal his true nature to her than he had been yesterday morning.

The irony wasn't lost on him. He'd bitten three teenagers. Opened their eyes to a world they'd only dreamt about, read in books and watched in movies and television… and he was terrified of telling his best friend. If she was still his best friend.

He kissed her.

But she kissed him back.

Even now as she sat there, not completely content with him, she wanted him. He could smell her lust, her desire. They weren't lovers… yet.

Ever. He corrected.

Derek didn't want that from Holly. He had lovers. Left a string of them back in New York. He didn't need another lover, he wanted a… He tried to keep his mind from zoning in on the word, but as soon as he began down that road it grabbed and clung to the term.

_Mate_.

He wanted a mate. He wanted Holly to be his mate. In the midst of his an alpha pack darkening his door, or maybe because of it. Derek held no illusions that the fight with the alphas could end with his death. And despite his uncle's resurrection, Derek considered himself the last Hale. The last of his blood line.

"What?" Holly demanded. "Why are you staring at me like that?"

Derek shrugged and let the first thing that came to him mind out of his mouth, "I just never realized how extremely beautiful you are."

She started to speak, stopped, started to again and stopped again. She didn't have to say a word, he heard the flutter as her heartbeat increased. Watched the fumbling motions of her fingers as she grabbed her keys and slid her feet into her sandals.

"What are you doing?" he questioned when she approached him.

"You said you would take me to pick up a few things from my place."

"You want to go now?"

"No, I thought we'd wait until the witching hour."

Lilacs. She smelled like lilacs again. Or maybe she never stopped smelling like them. Derek clenched his right hand into a fist around his car keys to keep from stroking his palm against her hair and face. With his left, he gestured for her to lead the way back down to the cars, taking the lift instead of the stairs.

The ride to her house was silent and as pregnant as an elephant nearing the end of its gestation period. He pulled his car into the apex of the circular driveway, following her inside and extending his senses. He found the inside as he hoped he would, quite. No strange smells, no strange noises and from what he could tell no forced entry.

Derek followed Holly up to her bedroom and took a seat on the end of her bed while she continued into a walk-in closet. She returned a moment later with a mid-sized suit case she placed on the bed next to him and opened.

"Where's Isaac?" her voice carried over the sound of drawers opening and closing.

"He's staying with a friend tonight," he offered. "He wasn't feeling well so I took him to a doctor friend."

"Which means you probably think you're getting lucky tonight."

Derek knew the words weren't meant for him to hear. And he wouldn't have heard them, if he had the normal hearing of a man. She stepped back into the room with an armload of clothing she dumped on the bed and neatly began folding and arranging into the suitcase

It didn't take her long. Two more armloads of clothing, a trip to the bathroom to gather toiletries and the suitcase was filled. Thirty minutes later he carried the same suitcase into his loft behind Holly.

She'd fallen silent again after their brief exchange at her house. Derek checked his phone for the fiftieth time, hoping to see a text or voice message from Scott or Stiles. Disappointed when his phone relayed nothing new in either.

He watched Holly disappear up the last of the spiral steps. A few moments later the steel door to the roof open and close. Derek paused at the bottom of the steps and scrubbed his hands over his hair spiking it dramatically in the wake of his fingers. Being in an enclosed space with Holly was going to be interesting. He'd been with her for less than two hours and already her scent was driving him to distraction.

Maddening distraction.

Erica and Boyd should have been his primary concern. And for the most part they still were, they still occupied the back, front, and center of his mind but he couldn't do anything about them. Not yet. Not tonight anyway. Not until he heard back from Stiles. That left the distraction that smelled of lilacs and spices free to consume the rest of his mind and body.

He found her on the roof, sitting on the raised wooden bench that overlooked the Beacon Hills. The city stretched before them like a sea of lights pulsing away from the downtown area. Surrounding the city on either side were the woods Beacon Hills was famous for. Green trees of various species sprawled on either side of the small city. To the right, they cascaded up the sides of mountains, eventually giving way to rock and stone. To the left, they simply stretched for what looked like eternity.

He approached the bench and took a seat next to her; forearms resting on his thighs so he could study his hands and the city.

"Holly, don't be mad."

"I'm not mad, I'm… frustrated. You and I never had secrets before and now it feels like everything is different. Like everything is one big secret."

"It's only been two days."

"I know that," she countered frowning at him. "I'm not naïve. I know things are going to be different. That we'll relate to each other different as adults than we did as children but it doesn't make it any less…"

"What?" he pushed after her prolonged silence.

"I don't know… sad maybe? You seem so different now. Not that I would expect you to be the same but," she exhaled softly and turned to meet his eyes. "It seems like, like you're still battling through what happened six years ago. Like it's still this fresh open wound. I want to help, but I don't know how. Especially when you shut me out."

"I'm not shutting you out."

"You're not telling me everything."

"I could say the same about you."

"What?" she flinched only slightly but he heard the skip to her heartbeat.

"The panic attacks," he didn't mean for it to come out as an accusation.

"I saw a dead body. I'm not allowed to freak out?"

"Is that all it was from?"

One heartbeat.

Two heartbeats.

Three heartbeats.

Derek waited and watched the internal struggle behind her eyes until she not only looked away from him but stood and paced to rest her arms against the ledge.

"First tell me something," she chuffed softly and pushed her hair away from her face. "You have to give me something, Derek. You can't expect me to tell you my secrets for the past six years if you're keeping everything locked up in a vault."

"Okay," he conceded and smiled when she gave him a surprised look over her shoulder.

He leaned forward, folding his hands together and studying her profile. She changed at her place from the wrap dress to a pair of cargo pants that hung low on her waist. Caressing the curves of her hips and backside in every place his fingers longed to touch. Less than an inch of her slender midsection was exposed to the night air where the hem of the shirt didn't quite reach the waistband of her pants. It's where his fingers belonged, where they wanted to call home.

"Okay…" she pushed.

"Do you still want to know why I kissed you?"

"Yes," she turned to face him fully with her hands resting on the ledge behind her. "You're actually going to tell me?"

"I'm going to try."

"What do you mean try? In the words of Yoda, do, or do not, there is no try."

"I'm a guy," he countered matter-of-factly. "Feelings isn't something we're good at discussing."

"You're not a guy, Derek," she countered softly. "You're a man."

"It might not make sense," he warned.

"Why?"

He got to his feet and slowly made his way to lean against the edge next to her. "Because I don't understand it fully myself."

"Then talk it out," she shrugged one shoulder and turned back to gaze over the city. "You know, have a verbalized internal conversation."

He shook his head. "I don't want to have an external, internal conversation with myelf, Holly. I want to talk to you."

"Then talk."

"I want you," he snapped out. Derek hadn't meant for the words to be so blunt but they decided to come out of his mouth before he could stop them. "That's not accurate," he followed up in a softer voice. "It's beyond want."

"Beyond," she frowned and shook her head slightly, her eyes purposely fixed on the city lights. "What's beyond want?"

"Need."

If Derek didn't know any better he would say her heart stopped beating for a second.

"For as long as I can remember when I was growing up my father drilled into me nothing was more important than family and friends. Above anything you protect your family, you protect your friends. You do whatever you have to, in order to keep them safe. When you became my friend you became my responsibility."

"Derek you were twelve… I was twelve."

"It didn't matter. It was my duty to keep you safe. You were my responsibility."

"Is that what I am now?"

Derek heard the anger and indignation in her voice that told him he was doing a piss poor job at explaining things. Every woman loved hearing they were a duty.

"I'm telling you this because I still feel protective of you but it's not just a duty or a responsibility. It's…" he paused a moment searching for the right word. "Instinctual."

"Because your dad drilled it into you."

"No," he countered. "Because I look at you and all I want to do is touch you and kiss you. I smell your hair and…"

Just like that it clicked.

Since the fire, anger became Derek's anchor, but he could feel it shifting. In that moment he understood why Scott couldn't stay away from Allison. Kate hadn't just stolen his family and his potential, she'd stolen his humanity. She'd stolen his hope. She'd stolen his heart. She'd stolen his soul. He thought he'd found a mate in her, and her betrayal hadn't just broken him, it shattered him.

Completely.

Irrevocably.

Or so he thought.

"And what?" she turned searching his eyes with hers. "Derek what?"

"You're a lighthouse," he answered softly.

"I am?" she gave him a confused look. "Is that a… good thing?"

"You're like finding water in the desert. I look at you and I see hope. I want to be better because that means you'll be safe. I look at you and I know if anyone ever hurt you I would kill them."

Her response hadn't been what Derek expected. She scoffed slightly and turned away from him. One hand wrapping around her stomach while the fingers of her other toyed with a pendant.

"You really put a lot of pressure on a girl," she finally spoke softly.

"You asked, Holly."

"I know, but … Derek there's… things that happened to me over the past six years that," she paused and scoffed again softly. "Might make you re-think everything you just said."

"Why don't you let me be the judge of that?"

"Okay."

She cleared her throat and turned to face him. Her stance, her heartbeat pounding as if she were preparing herself to do battle. Her eyes defiantly, meeting and holding his gaze despite everything about her outwardly and inwardly saying she wanted to run.

"I have a mental disorder," she stated bluntly. Just as bluntly as he began his explanation.

It threw him. Of all the things he thought might come from her mouth, that hadn't made the list. Part of him hoped she would confess to knowing about werewolves, not that it would have made it any easier. Having her confess to something that gave her panic attacks wouldn't exactly be the best segue into revealing his true nature.

"It's where the panic attack stem from. The clinical term is anxiety disorder with acute schizotypy."

"But you always seemed…" he paused trying to force his head around what she just told him, while trying not to sound like an uncaring bastard.

"So normal?" she concluded, and he knew he failed at the latter part. "Yeah, well, apparently there's a family history of it seeing as my mom killed herself about a month before graduation. See, Derek, your life wasn't the only one that fell apart when your family died. Her letter said she felt guilty. That maybe if your uncle's attention hadn't been on getting her out he would have been able to save the rest of his family."

"Your mother was there?"

Holly shrugged slightly. "I guess. Not like I got a chance to ask her. I found her body when I got home from school. She drowned herself in the pool. That's when it started."

"What started?"

"At first it was night terrors. My father said I'd wake up scream or running or both. Then the panic attacks started. They weren't that bad at first, just really bad chest pains, like someone was squeezing my lungs. They started getting worse and worse and eventually, the hallucinations started. I thought they were visions."

"The hallucinations?"

She nodded slowly as those brown eyes met his gaze, held it for several long seconds and looked away. "I would be on, a battlefield. Not here I think it was in England or Europe or somewhere with castles. There were soldiers, knights dead and it smelled like smoke and blood and fur. There were animals, dogs. Huge dogs and… wolves that had been stabbed with swords and… you were there."

"I was there?"

"Dying, always dying. You were on the ground, and I knelt down next to you right before you died. I must have been crying or it started raining, I don't remember a lot of the details, I haven't had it in a long time but I remember everywhere the water touched you… healed. And these white and purple flowers started growing where the wounds had been."

Derek studied Holly's face.

"I was sure it meant something. It's not like I had a bunch of different visions or hallucinations it was the same one. Over and over. Sometimes more detail, sometimes less. Sometimes it would be longer or shorter but always the same. I told my dad about it. I thought maybe it meant something, but he just had me committed at Briar Sanctuary."

"The mental institution in Calverton, Oregon?" he cringed slightly.

She gave an affirmative nod. "They shoved a bunch of pills down my throat and gave me electroshock therapy, and I learned to tell them what they wanted to hear, and… I don't know," she paused and eyes widening slightly as she sucked a lungful of air in between clenched teeth. "I guess somewhere along the line I started to believe it myself, because everything just stopped."

"The visions."

"The visions, the night terrors the panic attacks it all, just, stopped. That was five years ago. And I haven't experienced any symptoms… until yesterday. And I'm scared, that it means something but I don't know what," she breathed the words out in a whispered shaky breath.

Holly had visions. Not hallucinations, but visions of some ancient battle with him in it. With him dying in it, he corrected himself. With him dead and her resurrecting him. Did it mean something then? A prediction of the future… five years ago? Derek tried to think back to some of the stories his mother told him and his sisters. They weren't all about hunters. Some had been about protectors and allies of his people. But he didn't remember any that possessed the ability to cry a wound better. He was sure he'd remember his mother telling him that story.

"Derek. Please. Say something," she pleaded softly. "Say anything. Don't just stare at me like you think I'm cra—"

He cut her off with his lips. His mouth capturing hers before she could finish a sentence that couldn't have been further from the truth. Derek couldn't think of anything to say. Words had never been one of his strengths but he could show her.

He took advantage of the parted state he found her lips and delved his tongue deep into her mouth. She placed her hands flush against his chest, and Derek tensed, ready to release her at the slightest indication of resistance. He thought she intended to push him away, but his chest turned out to only be a rest station on the way to his shoulders and the back of his head and neck.

Holly kissed him back with as much ferocity as he initiated. Her lips closed around his tongue, her teeth nipped against it trapping it inside her mouth before she battled against him. Invading, conquering, seducing him as much as he wanted to seduce her. She curled her fingers into his short hair using it as an anchor to align her body against his. The hard muscles and soft curves collided to eliciting an immediate reaction that nearly unhinged him.

Derek fought to regain control but each time she rubbed her body against his, each thrust of her tongue to lick into the depths of his mouth pushed him over until he felt like he was drowning. And he wasn't sure he wanted to be saved, in fact, he knew he didn't.

He repositioned fingers, once lost in her hair to the back of her thighs, and with barely a thought hoisted her into the air. It didn't take long for her to secure those long legs around his waist, allowing him to support her with one arm. He threaded the fingers of his free hand into her hair again, gripped it hard, and tugged her head back to expose her throat.

Holly cried out and her thigh fitted tighter around his waist in response. He needed her, needed to be in her, to have as much of her surrounding him as possible. More dizzying than the soft mewling sound she made when his teeth nipped the flesh over her throat. More tantalizing than the feel of her breasts rubbing against his chest. Her scent.

The smell of her desire, not random, but for him. She wanted him, needed him as much as he needed her. The smell of her desire somehow brought him back from the maddening haze passion created.

Derek didn't remember moving but somewhere along the way he transported them from standing near the ledge of the building, to Holly sprawled under him against the cushion of the bench. Even worse, his fangs elongated into razor points and he knew if he opened his eyes, he would see the world through an inferred spectrum of colors.

First impulse was to pull away but that would have alarmed her. And if she saw him in that state, no warning, she would have freaked. So he kept his face buried against her throat, ragged, panting breaths caressing her skin.

"What's wrong?"

He stopped but from the way her fingers tunneled under his shirt and continued to explore the contours of his back she had no intentions of doing the same. He wondered how much of the loss of control had to do with Holly, how much was due to the full moon rising tomorrow, or a combination of the two.

"Nothing," he breathed the words against her skin.

"Then why'd you stop?"

"Because it's not fair to you," he kept his voice in a soft whisper, not trusting anything louder to not sound like a growl or contain a bass rumble with his wolf so close to the surface. "You told me everything, you deserve the same."

"So tell me everything and we'll be even."

"I will, soon. I promise," he added to her soft moan of discontentment.

"I really don't like you right now."

He chuckled softly and placed light kiss to her throat. He didn't need his nose or ears to tell him she was lying. Despite the tips of her fingers still delicately tracing patterns against his sides and back, he'd managed to pull himself back under control. His fangs regressed to normal size, and a quick opening of his eyes confirmed the inferred retreat as well.

Everything was normal.

Everything werewolf related, at least.

"Fine, I don't hate you," she relented with a sigh. "But I get the shower first."

She rounded her hands from his back, pressing them lightly against his chest. He didn't move, his mind told him he needed to let her up, but his body refused to move. Parts of him were still at the ready to be buried inside her.

"Derek you have to get up now."

"I have a better idea than a cold shower."

"I'm not taking a cold bath with you," she teased and pushed again. "Derek you—"

Her words hitched and hiccupped into a sharp hissing gasp. He moved his hand again, pressing the heel down and rubbing it against the apex of her thighs.

"I, I thought you said we were stopping."

"We aren't having sex, but…" he corrected. "I didn't say anything about you."

Her entire body vibrated against him, but had nothing to do with panic attacks or fear. She wanted him plain and simple. Even in the wake of his words, she still wanted him. She'd just bared her soul to him. He knew he needed to do the same before they had sex. She needed to see the lid of the puzzle box before she decided to play with the pieces.

Still, it didn't seem fair to punish her.

Derek kissed the tip of her nose and let the smile tug the corners of his lips upward.

Holly stared at him. Her dark eyes filled with desire, uncertainty, lust… love. Did she love him?

He moved his fingers and slowly unfastened her pants. With each tug of the material down, over her hips her breathing grew more rapid. He placed his hands on either side, gripping her waist with his fingers as she tilted her head back and closed her eyes.

The brush of his cheek against her inner thigh caused her let his name slip from between her lips on a long slow moan. He couldn't wait to see what happened when he kissed her.

"And the waiting game continues."

From his position on the couch, Derek looked up from the book at the sound of his uncle's voice, but not in his direction. He didn't want to see his uncle's face or any other part of his body. With Isaac spending the night at Deaton's, unless Stiles or Scott called with a solution to their problem, the only person he wanted around him for the rest of the evening was sleeping several feet away.

He glanced in her direction and subconsciously ran his tongue over his lips. He could still taste her on his lips and smell her skin against his face. If he could smell her, Peter would definitely be able…

Peter inhaled deeply as he moved closer and Derek cursed silently.

"Fe, fi, fo, fum," Peter leaned over the back of the couch and sniffed close to Derek's shoulder. "I smell—"

"—Don't say it."

He sniffed again and Derek found himself tempted to punch Peter in the face. That or slash his throat again.

"Smells," when Peter pressed his nose against the side of Derek's cheek, he palmed his uncle's face and shoved him away. "One sided."

"It smells like none of your business."

"I beg to differ," Peter vaulted over the couch and landed on the cushion next to Derek. "You're my alpha. If you're finally claiming your mate, it's the pack's business."

"Keep your voice down," Derek warned.

Peter blinked, looked over at the bed, and back to Derek. "You haven't told her?'

"No."

"Are you planning on telling her?"

"Yes."

"When?'

"Soon."

"And when are you planning on biting her?"

Derek looked at Peter for the first time since he entered the loft. The question had been rattling around in the back of his mind for hours. Just one more to the list.

"It'll be her choice," Derek finally concluded.

Peter laughed. Not just a snicker but a full on laugh that nearly doubled him over. Derek felt his good mood from early darkening with each passing second.

"Her choice." Peter scoffed. "None of this is her choice."

"What are you talking about?"

"Like you don't know."

Derek stared at his uncle with a look he hoped conveyed how much he was restraining himself from punching him. When the amusement slowly faded from Peter's face, he knew the point had been made.

"You really _don't_ know, do you?"

"Evidently not," Derek answered impatiently.

"I think you need to come with me, nephew."

Peter stood and made a beckoning motion. For the second time that evening, Derek found himself following someone to the roof of his loft.

"Looks like I found the scene of the crime," Peter teased.

Derek gave himself points for not throttling him. Instead he opted to fold his arms over his chest and stare at his uncle who sprawled purposely in middle of the bench.

"Are you going to tell me whatever it is you're dying to tell me? Or are you going to sit there looking smug for the rest of the night?"

"Both isn't an option?"

He curled his fingers into a tight fist to keep his nails from growing into claws. With his arms stretched across the back of the bench, Peter just continued to regard him haughtily, relishing in the knowledge he knew something Derek didn't.

"I'm going to check on Isaac," he pushed out through clenched teeth. He didn't have time or the patience for this.

"You think you're falling in love with her," Peter began. He waited until Derek's fingers curled around the door handle before speaking, because he knew the words would stop him cold. "Right? Her scent reminds you of your favorite childhood smell. You think about her, constantly, even when you shouldn't. You'd do anything to protect her, and when you're around her especially on the full moon, you just can't quite seem to control yourself. How am I doing so far?"

"How about, you get to the point," Derek seethed.

"How about you wake up, Derek and think? Think back to the stories your parents used to tell you."

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about a boy making a promise to a girl that he would always protect her."

He turned to glare at his uncle. Peter must have been waiting for him to turn around because the moment he did he stood and approached him.

"What does that have to do with this?"

"Why do you think your mother was so upset with you?"

"Maybe because she found a girl in the bed of her twelve year old son?"

"Or maybe it was because she knew what you did that night and the consequences that would follow."

"I promised her I would protect her."

"Not just protect her," Peter grabbed onto Derek's right wrist and held his hand up to the moon. "You made a promise, in blood, on the night of a full moon to protect her and love her."

Derek stared at his uncle and then his hand. "We were just kids."

"You made a blood pact under the moon. You two bonded yourselves to each other that night."

Derek snatched his hand away like it had been burned.

"Why do you think you've always been attracted to her, especially around the full moon."

"That doesn't make any sense," he stammered and snatched his hand away. "It doesn't explain why…" he stopped himself before he uttered Kate's name.

He'd been in love with her, hadn't he?

"Why what? Why you're attracted to other women? You're a werewolf, and you're an Alpha," his uncle chastised. "She won't be though. As long as you're around and as long as she's not a werewolf, she'll only have eyes for you. Figuratively speaking of course." He paused to consider that. "So I suppose, it's not all bad."

"You're a bastard, you know that?" Derek stated glaring at his uncle again.

"It _is_ one of my finer qualities," Peter replied almost triumphantly.

* * *

Derek knocked on the glass door to the vet's office softly. He knew he was inside, from the two heartbeats he heard, one for Deaton, the other for Isaac. He also knew Isaac was asleep and Deaton sat vigil over him. He just wasn't sure if Deaton would answer the door, but it didn't take long to hear the movement of feet getting closer.

Alan Deaton, one time advisor to the Hale family, unlocked the glass door and gestured for Derek to enter.

"No word from Scott or Stiles yet?"

He shook his head and momentarily shifted his gaze towards the back where he listened to the steady pattern of Isaac's heartbeat.

"He's fine," Deaton assured him. "He's resting, finally. He's worried about you."

The glance to the doctor was fleeting as he opted instead of checking on Isaac to have a seat in one of the waiting area chairs. Derek still hadn't decided if he liked Alan Deaton or not, but he respected him. Partially because of his mother. His mother had listened to Deaton, had asked him to look out for her only son. That meant something. To Derek, that meant a lot.

Deaton, however, didn't seem to like Derek much. Derek wasn't sure if that had something to do with Scott, or something to do with his past. He wanted to like him, he wanted to trust him, but the only people Derek every really trusted in his life had been his family. His family and Holly.

He cringed slightly. He left the loft to clear his head. He couldn't think, couldn't concentrate with her scent everywhere. It chased him all the way to the vet's office where it lingered in his memory. He was vaguely aware Deaton had taken the seat next to him.

"Isaac's a good kid," he spoke softly.

"Yes," he agreed with a nod. "He is."

"I need something from you," Derek finally stated.

"Yes?"

As he spoke, he leaned forward, resting his elbows on his thighs. "I need you to make the same promise you made to my mother."

"You don't think you'll make it back tomorrow."

"If Stiles doesn't find a way into the vault by moonrise tomorrow night…"

"You can't storm the bank by yourself Derek. One alpha maybe, but you can't take on a pack of them. Single handedly."

"If they can't find a way into that vault, I don't have a choice. I know you don't think I'm a competent alpha, well the truth is neither do I. But Boyd and Erica are my wolves, my responsibility. I can't leave them to die."

He listened to the material of the chair groaning under Deaton's shifting weight. "And Isaac?"

"Isaac's been through enough. I'm not taking him with me."

"If you die, he'll be an Omega."

"He's got Scott."

"Two Omegas fighting an Alpha pack aren't much better odds."

"Scott's smart. Resourceful," Derek stated softly. "He'll figure something out."

Deaton stood, lightly placed a hand on Derek's shoulder. "Wolves always need an Alpha, Derek. You're the only one they have."

Deaton stood, made his way through the partition and held it open for Derek. "You take watch. I'll get some sleep."

Getting to his feet, Derek followed Deaton to the back room, where Alan stretched out on a twin bed with a metal frame. It looked like something on permanent loan from a military barracks.

Derek picked up the book in the chair next to Isaac's bed and sat down.

He would stand guard over both of them tonight and sleep tomorrow during the day.

He would need to get plenty of rest.

Tomorrow night was going to be a rough one.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: As always the first thing I want to do is thank you all for following and/or favoriting my story. A special thank you to those that have left reviews!

Unfortunately since there were only 2 reviews left for chapter 6 I have to assume you all didn't like it. I'm sorry about that, but again, without reviews I don't know what to do to improve. I guess if you gals aren't enjoying this enough to leave a review and let me know how I'm doing, I'll stop posting, I'm not sure what else to do. I don't want to continue to update something that's lost it's shine.

If you're enjoy, please review! I need to know if I should keep posting chapters or if I'm the only one enjoying this and should just keep the story to myself.

**POTENTIAL SPOILER ALERT FOR EPISODE 3 & 4**

Chapter 7 – Alphas

She felt like the world's biggest fool.

When she woke that morning to an empty loft, something felt off, but Holly dismissed the voice in the back of her head issuing a whispered warning. She wasn't going to be her usual self. She wasn't going to over analyze every little thing Derek did and read something huge, and more than likely completely imaginary, into it. She didn't want the fairytale to come crashing down. Holly wanted at least twenty-four hours to revel in the memory of the best cunnilingus she experienced in her life.

Derek's tongue did things to her that should have been illegal. He said he wouldn't make love her, but he did. He just used a different part of his body to do it.

And now she was hooked.

And now she felt like a raging fool.

She'd sent a sappy text to him almost as soon as she bolted out of bed and spent the rest of the day discretely checking her phone for a reply. Just before the swim meet she received a text from him, but not the one she expected, or even one she would have deemed mildly acceptable after an entire day of radio silence. Eight cryptic words: Don't come to the loft until after nine.

Upset, hurt, angry… the three emotions jockeyed for top spot. During the meet she managed to suppress everything that could be remotely considered an emotion other than enthusiasm. Put on a happy face wasn't just a song but words to live by while she encouraged her team onto their first win of the season.

Sitting at a table at the Dragonfly Grill, she didn't have to hide anything, and she certainly didn't have to plaster a smile to her face. And if anyone encouraged her to smile, she just might have to ventilate the back of their hand with her fork.

"It would seem we've both been stood up."

"I beg your pardon?"

Holly turned in the direction of the voice and found it belonged to an older man. Not ridiculously old, he couldn't have been beyond forty and that was probably pushing it. He wore his hair longer than Derek's but still short. Of course given the short length of Derek's hair, hair would have to be buzzed or non-existent to be shorter. She noted he had a similar chiseled jaw, and for a man pushing middle aged, his body was still solidly built. Dark glasses covered his eyes, hinting at what the white folded cane confirmed.

"You've been sitting for twenty minutes without ordering. I assumed you were waiting for someone."

"Oh, no, I just… turns out I'm not as hungry as I thought I was."

"Oh. I'm terribly sorry. I didn't mean to presume."

"It's okay," Holly shook her head and quickly chastised herself. "I'm… honestly I'm not a hundred percent sure what I'm doing here."

"Trouble with your boyfriend?"

Holly scoffed softly. "That would be assuming he _is_ my boyfriend, which I'm not entirely sure he wants the position."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"It's okay," her words accompanied a half smile completely wasted on the blind man. "After today the feeling may be mutual."

"To be young and in love."

"It's not all it's cracked up to be," Holly touched her fingers to the wine glass. "I'm sorry, I'm Holly. If I'm going to dump my problems at your feet I might as well tell you my name."

"Deucalion."

"Deucalion," she repeated the name softly. "Like the son of Prometheus."

"Very good," he rewarded her with a chuckle. "I'm impressed."

"I like to read. When I was in high school and college I inhaled any book I could find about Greek and African mythology. It was a passion of mine."

"You give me hope for the coming generation. I'm glad to find there are still some that feel… passionate about something."

The smile melted from her lips slightly. Maybe it was the tone or the inflection he placed on the words but something… something about him made a chill dance from one end of her spine to the other.

"You need passion, for life. To make it worth living. Don't you agree?"

"Yes, um," she pressed her lips together slightly. "I do."

"Your… possible boyfriend? Is he a passionate man?"

"Um, I hope you don't take offense, but, I don't think I really want to discuss that aspect with a stranger. I'm sorry, I don't mean to sound—"

"—Not at all, I apologize. I did not mean to make you uncomfortable."

"No, no, it's me, mostly I'm just, I'm not in a social mood so it seems to make everything awkward."

"Would you like to dine with me?" he gave a surprisingly accurate gesture to the chair across from him. "Perhaps once you get to know me, you will feel less awkward."

There it was again. Holly might not have known the origins or where it stemmed from but she knew enough to trust her feelings.

"Thank you, but I actually need to go, and run some errands. It was nice meeting you, Deucalion."

"You as well. I look forward to running into you again, Holly."

Holly had been fumbling around in her purse for money but his words, his tone. She looked up expecting to meet sunglasses and found sightless eyes rimmed in red staring right at her. He couldn't see her, he was blind. But he seemed to be staring right at her.

She reminded herself to breath as she placed a ten dollar bill on the table and moved out of the restaurant as quickly as she possible without running. At least until she got out of the restaurant. Running to her car, Holly hit the auto locks, securing herself inside the moment she closed the door.

Clenching her hands together she looked around and knew she was being silly. Still she couldn't shake the feeling. Something dark, and not in a good way, surrounded the man.

With a soft exhale of breath, she started the car, put it in gear and realized, she had absolutely no where to go. At seven o'clock she couldn't go to Derek's loft, she couldn't go home. Any rebelliousness of heading back to her house was snuffed out from her conversation with Deucalion. The mall was still open, but Holly had to be in a mood to go shopping, one she was decidedly not in. Nor did the theater offer any movie selections she had an interesting in seeing.

Pulling out into traffic, Holly turned the car around and headed back to Beacon Hills High School. For a public high school, Beacon Hills' library held a vast array of books, especially in the mythological section. She still hadn't looked up her mother's maiden name, Airmid, or the race of people Adrian stated the name originated from. She considered herself a lay-person expert on Greek myth and African studies. It was time she started learning about her mother's side of the family.

* * *

The first loud clang startled her awake.

Even still it took Holly several seconds to remember where she was. Something squeaked followed by a loud distinctive slam. Had she really fallen asleep? According to the damp page on the book marked by her drool? Yes. She brushed a hand across her eyes and pushed herself to her feet.

"Hello?" she called out closing the books on the table in front of here. "There's someone in here. I know it's late, I must have dozed… off…"

Holly dropped her voice off as she listened to the noise coming from outside the fenced off cage. Part a teacher's supply area, part the rest of the library.

"Hello? Is somebody there?"

She inched forward but stopped immediately when a growl answered her back, followed by another, and another. Any words she planned on saying froze in her throat at the sight of two pairs of yellow glowing eyes. They walked upright like people, they were built like people for the most part, but they couldn't have been people.

"Oh my God."

She stepped back as two things from nightmares approached her. One smaller than the other, claws, fangs snarling… approaching her slowly as if they knew she was terrified and enjoyed every moment of it. Like the slower they approached, the more time the fear would have to settle in and season her muscles.

A scream slipped out muffled by her hand clamped over her mouth. She realized too late instead of backing away she should have closed the gate. It wouldn't have stopped them, but maybe it would have slowed them down. Stall them long enough for her to find something, for her to do something. The shorter one snarled, and lunged forward, and then they were both gone.

Blindsided. Slammed into the pipes by something that came out of the dark. Whatever it was roared so loudly the sound hurt her ears. The plan had been to run past them, but that had been before the god awful roar. Holly grabbed hold of the gate and slammed it shut. Wishing like hell the gate was a steel door.

She grabbed a yard stick and scurried to the back of the cage. Huddling in the darkest corner she could find, Holly clutched the yard stick in both hands, squeezed her eyes shut and prayed as she listened to what sounded like wild animals tearing into each other.

She was going to die. She was going to die in the basement of a school mauled by… what? Rabid humans? Humans didn't look like that. Humans didn't growl and snarl like that. Humans didn't have claws and fangs and eyes that glowed. Humans didn't growl and snarl.

She thought of Derek. The police had no idea to contact him, nor did the school. How would he find out? Would he come looking for her and be stopped by the principal? He deserved better. Six years ago his world had been ripped apart and he still carried the scars. How deep would the scars of her death go?

She wasn't ready to die. She hadn't decided until just that moment. Until the squeak of the gate opening touched her ears. She opened her eyes to see the sun shining through the basement windows. Her breath hitched as steps moved slowly closer, her fingers tightening around the yard stick until the edges cut into her flesh.

He was close… it was close.

Holly sucked in her breath, prepared to swing and…stopped.

Those shoes. She knew those shoes.

"Holly?"

She knew that voice. He found her, but how? How had he even known she was there?

Slowly she raised her eyes from his feet to black faded jeans splattered with mud and dirt, to his tee shirt where her gaze stalled. His shirt was ripped and blooded like a wild animal clawed into him. Her gaze resumed an upward travel, over his chest, over the blood and shredded material of his shirt to his face. Three claw marks blooded his left cheek. She squinted, looked harder, and realized there were only three because one had nearly healed.

His eyes startled her. More than all the blood, more than the scratches, the raw, naked, vulnerable expression in those green depths made her breath catch in her throat.

Slowly, so very slowly he raised his hand and held it out to her. A wordless request. Holly stared at the hand for what could have very well been eternity before her fingers gradually uncurled from the yard stick.

She hesitated for a moment. The hand that looked so harmless had been claws only a few minutes ago. She'd heard him snarling and growling with the others, and she was willing to bet her inheritance it had been him that made that eardrum splitting roar.

But this was Derek.

He promised to protect her and to date, he'd done just that. But he wasn't human. She faltered, but his hand never did. His hand held steady, patiently waiting. He never took his gaze from her.

This was Derek.

Holly let the yard stick slip from her fingers and clatter to the concrete as she filled Derek's hand with hers. He offered just the ghost of a smile as he closed his fingers around hers. He didn't tug her to her feet, but let her use his strength and stability to pull herself up. To stand on her terms. Everything, she realized, he was letting her do on her own terms, giving her the option to reject him, run screaming… or accept him.

Derek waited until she stood facing him to bring his other hand up. He raised it towards her cheek, but stopped when she flinched.

"I'm sorry."

"Shh, don't be. Are you okay?"

She shook her head, not trusting her voice not to crack. Physically, she was fine. She was doing better than Derek with gaping wounds in various locations on his chest, abdomen and back. Mentally her mind wanted to escape far away.

"Holly?" he called her name gently. "Did they hurt you?"

Again she shook her head.

"Come with me?"

She gave a mute nod and they were moving. Derek walked backwards to the gate, his fingers still curled around her hand. He didn't pull her as much as he guided her through the boiler room to the door.

Her mind was succeeding in its desire to retreat. She was vaguely aware as Derek walked her from the school to his car and loaded her into the passenger seat. She was only barely aware there were other people around. She was pretty sure one was Isaac, and that he was talking to Derek. He hadn't left her. He talked to the others but he kept the door open, kept her hand in his.

She squeezed his hand and even though he didn't miss a beat in the conversation he squeezed hers in return. They talked a bit longer by the time Derek finished she'd wrapped her free hand around his wrist and rested her forehead against his bicep. He seemed as reluctant for her to release him, as she was to let him go, but as he assured her, they had to leave.

Somewhere along the way, Holly realized she wasn't the only passenger in the car. A girl with brunette hair lay sprawled on the seat behind them. She didn't recognize the girl but she recognized the clothing.

"Derek?" she hated the panicked sound in her voice but she couldn't keep it from leaking out.

"She's not going to hurt you, Holly."

"Who is she?"

"Cora."

She turned, looking at the girl again, lips slightly open.

"I know," he answered the question before she asked. "I thought she died in the fire too."

The streets of Beacon Hills were mostly deserted as they drove from the school to his loft. According to the dashboard clock, by the time they turned into the warehouse it was only just broaching six o'clock. He drove close to the elevator, got out and pulled his sister into his arms.

"Is she going to be okay?"

"Physically?"

Holly followed, him into the lift and into his loft, stopping at the couch as he continued to stretch Cora out across his bed. Silently she watched him fussing over her, carefully stretching her on her side, smoothing strands of hair away from her face. As he dotted on her, she let her eyes take in the scratches on his back, or the space where the scratches on his back used to be. Somewhere between the school and the loft, they healed.

She drew in a shaky breath and wondered if this was a nightmare she needed to wake from.

"Don't," Derek whispered.

"Don't what?"

"Retreat from me." He stood and walked towards her but stopped short of reaching her.

"What are you?" she asked softly

"I'm Derek."

"What are you?" she repeated."

"I'm the same guy you've known for most of your life."

"What the fuck are you! What are you Derek?" she wasn't sure if her shouting surprised her or Derek more. "I'm sorry," she followed up in a whisper.

He took in a deep breath, his eyes holding her gaze.

"I'm a werewolf."

Holly slowly sank into a nearby chair. He said it. She hoped it would be something else, some weird congenital birth defect… that allowed him to turn into a monster.

"H—how long?"

"I am what I am by birth."

"And Cora? She's a…"

"Werewolf," he supplied when her lips refused to fill in the blanks.

"And your uncle?"

He nodded in the affirmative and sat down on the table in front of her. He edged forward until his knees pressed against hers and rested his palms on her thighs. Holly tried to focus on his eyes, still open, still more vulnerable than she'd ever seen them, and not the building fear of him being so close.

"Derek…"

"No."

"Derek…"

"I'm not going to hurt you. Ever."

"Derek I know," she gripped his wrists. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because it's a family secret. And you're not family."

They both turned to see Cora pushing herself up on the bed. Her arms still shaky from the effort as she glared in their direction. Holly wasn't sure if she was glaring at her, or her brother, but the memory of what she saw in the boiler room was enough to get her on her feet.

"Calm down, I'm not going to bite you," Cora chastised. "From the looks of things that's my brother's job."

Holly looked from Cora to Derek who'd gotten to his feet and stood slightly between the two of them. She doubted his positioning was lost on any one in the room. Cora said she wouldn't bite. His posture said he wasn't completely sure if that was a true statement.

"This feels like a lot," Holly stated softly. "I mean this is a lot, a lot. I thought you were a… a drug dealer, or in some weird, Beacon Hills underground mob scene or, I don't know… something where you didn't…"

"Sprout hair, fangs and claws?" Cora supplied a bit sarcastically.

"I'm the same person, Holly."

"But you're not a person. You're a werewolf."

Holly countered in both words and movements, taking a step back to his advance. She raised her right hand towards his chest as if she meant to keep him at bay.

"I'm still Derek." He offered with his hands held up.

She met his gaze and lowered her hand.

He was right, of course. He was still Derek… her Derek. Her knight in shining… fur. He closed the distance between them, walking tentatively until less than a foot separated them. With slow deliberate movements he raised his hand and brushed the tips of his fingers against her cheek. Holly closed her eyes momentarily and turned her cheek into the palm of his hand.

"I'm sorry Derek," she whispered when she felt a tear slide down and over his hand. "I just, need time to, wrap my head around this."

He leaned forward and pressed his lips to her forehead, letting this kiss linger before answering, "I get it."

"I, um… I need to go to work anyway. I think I left my purse in the boiler room while I was cowering in fear," the last word came out in a nervous laugh.

He gave her a faint smile and she looked down as he pressed the keys to his Camaro into her palm. "Take my car."

"Thanks."

"You're gonna be ok."

Holly squared her shoulders and pushed a smile to her face. "I'll be back after practice."

Behind them she heard Cora scoff softly.

Holly took the elevator back downstairs, moved quickly across the open concrete floor, slid behind the wheel of the Camaro and froze. With her fingers gripping the lower half of the steering wheel, she laid her forehead against the upper portion, and wondered how she could have left him. Two nights ago, she confessed to being crazy, to being institutionalized. His reaction had been to give her more pleasure than she could endure. Hers was to flee. No, she wasn't fleeing; she was just temporarily relocating herself from a stressful and confusing situation.

She kept her eyes closed as she pictured Derek, pictured him as she knew him, pictured him as she saw him this morning. But how could she be sure what she saw. It all happened so fast. She wondered if he would change for her. If he would let her see… she frowned as her mind went to the word.

Monster.

He wasn't a monster. He was Derek. No matter what he looked like, he would always be Derek. And he had saved her life. She held no illusions Derek had been the only thing keeping Cora, and whoever else had been in that boiler room, from shredding her like tissue paper. He had protected her, just as he promised he would. The thought brought the hints of a smile to her face. He was everywhere. Like Batman.

Holly sat up and let out a quick bitten off scream. A woman crouched on the hood of the car, her mouth open in a cross between a mocking smile and a snarl. Curled fingers ended in black claws, and eyes glowing red stared at her through the glass. Holly's gaze went from the terrifying eyes to the claws. She knew those claws, had seen them before. The last time they'd been creeping from the other side of a locker.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," a male voice warned when her hand reached for the ignition.

She didn't want to turn her head. She felt like a little kid awakened by a nightmare. If she looked under the bed she would prove the Boogeyman didn't exist… unless it did and pulled her under never to be heard of again. That's what lurked on the other side of the car door. The boogeyman, going by the name, Deucalion.

"Get out of the car, now," he instructed in a voice as calm as if he were relaying a recipe, but at the same time promised that disobedience was not an option. "I won't ask again."

Holly opened the door reluctantly, unwilling to leave the faux safety of the car. She glanced towards the exit. It was a long shot, but he was blind, and the girl crouching on the hood couldn't be that fast. They were going to kill her anyway and she'd be damn if she just stood there and let them. Holly decided to go for it.

She used the door as a spring board, pushing off of it and sprinting towards the open bay entrance. She made it halfway there before she felt the air rush around her. Something grabbed her around the waist from behind and hoisted her clean off her feet as if she weighed nothing. Something that snarled against her ear.

Holly opened her mouth but only managed to suck down a lungful of air before a hand roughly clamped over her lips sealing the scream inside.

"Thank you, Ennis," Deucalion began as he unfolded his cane. "Bring her back please."

Ennis, assumedly the one that grabbed her, carried her back the distance she'd cleared and set her down in front of Deucalion.

"I have no intentions of killing you today, but if you run again I will rip your throat out. Understand?"

"Mm-hm," she nodded, her mouth still covered by Ennis' hand.

"Scream and I will rip your throat out. Understand?"

"Yes," she breathed after Ennis released her mouth.

"Can I ask you a question or will you rip my throat out?"

"By all means, my dear. Ask away."

"Wh… what do you want?"

"To have a chat with your possible boyfriend, Derek, of course," he replied. "He is home, isn't he?"

They handed Holly off. Ennis released his hold from around her waist, as Deucalion wrapped his hand around the back of her neck.

"No, I was on my way to pick—" Holly barely stopped herself from crying out when she felt Deucalion's claws break the skin at the back of her neck ever so slightly.

"Noble, but useless."

He used the hand embedded in her neck to push her forward, using her as his own seeing-eye human. She whimpered softly, leading him to the elevator, trying to control her breathing as much as possible to keep from hyperventilating.

"Kali, Ennis, see to our friends. And Kali, do try and be gentle."

The woman smiled, at least Holly thought it might have been a smile, with her fangs out it was hard to know for sure. She watched as first Ennis, and then Kali disappeared into the door of the loft while Deucalion held her back lingering just on the other side of the door.

"What do you want with Derek?"

"Just a conversation."

"Cell phones weren't an option."

He rewarded her by sinking his claws just a bit deeper into her neck. Holly opened her mouth but kept the scream from coming out. She felt her blood, trickling down her skin. It felt like he pushed his claws through the other side.

"It's the kind of conversation that has more of an impact in person."

"What… what do you want with me?" she winced. Not at the pain from his claws, but the roar that came from inside the loft.

"Nothing… for now. How long that remains depends entirely on Derek. Running into you just happened to be a fortuitous, but much welcomed, turn of events."

"You're hurting me."

"Oh no, my dear. I'm hurting Derek."

Holly flinched at the sound of the anguish filled roar that erupted from the loft. Deucalion urged her forward using her to lead him through the door. The scream tore from her lips before she could stop it. To her right, Cora lay on the ground, Ennis bent over her pinning her there with his claws gripped tightly around her throat, but it was the sight of Derek that nearly had her jerk free of Deucalion and run to him.

Positioned on the floor on his hands and knees, Kali stood over him, grinning like a psychotic nightmare, as she held a metal pipe through Derek's back and out his chest. Pinning him in position like a butterfly on a tray.

"Derek!"

"Everybody done?" Deucalion queried. Again he gave Holly a nudge using his cane to tap his way down the steps as much as her body. "Because just listening to that was exhausting."

Holly led him closer. She didn't want him anywhere near Derek but she couldn't bear watching him try to twist his body to see her. The anguished on his face… he was in too much pain but he would move. He would move if it meant getting closer to her. So she moved closer to him, stopping when Deucalion stood in front of the chair.

"Don't hurt her."

It could have been a request, but Holly heard the unspoken threat of his words. If she heard it, Deucalion had to have recognized it as well. But after shoving her to the ground and sitting in the chair he retracted his hands, leaving five bleeding notches dug into her neck.

"Touch him and he dies."

Holly yanked her hand back at Deucalion's warning, cradling it against her chest as if reaching for Derek had burned her.

"So, let's chat," he stated making himself comfortable. "Sorry about this Derek. I asked Kali to be gentle."

"This is me being gentle," Kali answered with a twist of the pipe.

Derek gasped as his entire body moved with the jerk of the pipe, as he softly panted another order like request. "L—let her go."

Deucalion made a gesture with her fingers towards Ennis who promptly released Cora. Just as Holly wanted to do, she moved towards her brother, running to close the distance but stopping when Derek gave a slight shake of his head and muttered a soft, "N—no."

Holly curled her hands into fists. Every fiber of her being cried out to touch him, to stop his pain. Each gasp of air sounded torturous to him and from the angle she sat, Holly couldn't tell where the pipe ran him through. Had his organs been pierced? His spine?

"See? We're not unreasonable."

"What do you want?" Derek panted in pain. "You want to kill me?"

"You really think I'm that boring?" Deucalion sighed. "Don't throw me in with sociopaths like your uncle."

The words caused Holly to frown slightly as she continued to watch Derek. He was still breathing, raggedly but she listened to him pulling in short gasps of air. Any doubt of his supernatural status flew out the window. If Derek had been a man, a human man, he'd be dead, or dying. He definitely wouldn't still be up on his hands and knees. Or coherently asking questions.

"I'm a man with far more vision than simply murder. In fact, I'm here to show you just how much vision, a blind man can have."

Holly closed her eyes when she felt a wave of power push outward from Deucalion. It felt like a hot wind. Like a suffocating hot wind meant to steal the breath of everyone it touched. If Derek felt it, he didn't show it, just continued to breathe through the pain of the pipe running through his body.

"You're killing him," Cora yelled when Kali sadistically twisted the pipe and caused Derek to spit up blood.

"Not yet little sister," Kali stood long enough to wiggle a finger in Cora's direction. "But I could."

"Derek, Derek look at me," Holly murmured.

She placed a hand on the floor, not touching him but within the range of his vision. She didn't know what she wanted to accomplish, but she hoped seeing her hand, knowing she was with him would bring him some amount of comfort. Assuming he could still see through the pain. She focused her eyes on Derek, blocking out Kali's words.

"You see that's the one problem with being in an Alpha pack. Everyone wants to make the decisions. Me, I'm all about discovering new talent. Like you."

"Not interested," Derek panted out through the pain.

Holly shifted her fingers on the floor slightly, opening them, and watched Derek's eyes move with them. She wanted to cry out in relief. He was watching them, focusing on them… focusing on her. Through the pain, through the blood that continued to drip from his lips, he was able to focus his gaze.

She curled her fingers against the floor, and then unfurled her index finger. Slowly she moved it just above the floor. Her finger tracing the pattern of a heart in the air. She tried to shut them out, Deucalion and Kali as they spoke. She heard them but she wished she couldn't, not as they tried to convince Derek to kill his pack. A pack that, with the exception of Peter, consisted of teenagers.

Deucalion stood as he continued his tirade, and Holly took a chance to press herself an inch closer. Derek had closed his eyes, his breath more ragged and strained and dark blood, nearly black dripped from his lips. She looked up as Deucalion stopped talking, just in time to shrink back as he approached them. She watched him touch Derek, stroke his hair almost fatherly before using it to yank his head back so the other hand could feel his face.

"You're right, Kali," Deucalion stated with her fingers feeling Derek's face. "He looks like his mother."

He released him and Derek's eyes remained open, glaring at the floor.

"You'll get to know me Derek, like she did."

"I know you. I know what you are," Derek stated to Deucalion. "You're a fanatic."

"Know me? You've never seen anything like me. I am the Alpha of Alphas. I am the apex of apex predators."

With each passing word his voice grew in volume and force. Holly could feel it moving against her. Crawling into her head and promising death, and blood, and pain. So much pain she would beg for the sweet merciful relief of death.

"I am death, destroyer of worlds. I. Am. The demon wolf!"

She scurried backward and pressed her body against the couch and the floor. Eyes closed tightly as if the lack of sight would make the boogeyman go away. She felt it coming on, felt the familiar tightening in her chest as if a fist squeezed the air from her lungs.

Something clanged to the ground and Holly opened her eyes in time to see the pipe, once nailing Derek to the ground on all fours bouncing to a stop. Deucalion took Kali's arm as the three headed towards the door.

Holly pushed herself forward, willing herself to focus on Derek and not the hyperventilating. She reached him as he dropped to his side, and used her knees to cradle his head when he rolled onto his back. Cora joined her and grabbed hold of her brother's arm and hip.

"Derek?" she brushed her thumb against his forehead.

He hadn't been sweating before but now beads appeared and multiplied until his hair was damp with sweat.

"Tell me what to do?" she looked up to meet Cora's eyes. "What are we supposed to do?"

"He has to heal," Cora answered. "Help me get him to the bed."

Holly nodded and moved to one side giving Cora the space she needed to claim the other, but as soon as they moved Derek to lift him he cried. The sound caught between a scream and a roar.

"Stop, stop! We're killing him."

"We're not killing him," Cora snapped. "He's not going to die."

But he was fading. Holly could see it in his eyes. The way his gaze seemed to lose focus, snap back and fade out again.

"Derek?"

He stared at her, but Holly doubted he saw her.

"Derek?"

His eyes rolled into the back of his head as he lost consciousness.

"Derek! Derek, wake up!"

She shook him. Coral growled and slammed her hand against Holly's chest. Hard enough send her careening backwards and clutching her chest.

"Don't touch him!" his sister warned placing her body between Holly and her unconscious brother.

She stood at a low crouch, fingers extended to claws with teeth that already began descending into fangs. Holly continued to clutch her chest and struggled to breathe through the pain.

"I am not going to watch him die."

"He's not dying he's healing."

"I want to help."

Holly took a step forward but stopped at warning growl from Cora.

"Get out."

"I'm not leaving him."

"I said get out."

Holly hesitated. She looked beyond Cora to Derek lying unconscious on the floor. She couldn't tell if he was still bleeding, too much blood from earlier had soaked his shirt to differentiate at her distance between what was new and old.

"I wa—"

"GET OUT!"

Holly retreated, stumbling over feet that refused to move fast enough in the face of amber glowing eyes. She kept her gaze on Derek as she scrambled up the stairs, tripped, picked herself back up, and continued stumbling through the door.

She took the stairs down instead of the elevator, hitting the door at a run, clinging to the railing to keep from diving heard first down the metal steps as she ran.

She burst out of the stairwell onto the ground floor of the warehouse.

She ran past Derek's car.

She ran out the open bay doors.

She didn't stop running until she hit population.


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Aloha! Thank you so much for the supportive reviews you all posted for chapter 7. So I've been toying with using one of the upcoming chapters to get into one or two other character's heads. Maybe Peter or Cora. I like both of them and they're both intriguing characters that we don't see much of in the show yet. Let me know if you all have a preference on who you'd like to see through the eyes of.

**Guest:** I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to make you have a hard time liking Cora. I actually love her character, and I think after reading this chapter you'll understand her actions and be able to like her again... I hope!

**Phoebe Nixon:** I'm glad you're enjoying Holly. My main concern was I didn't want to shoe horn her into the canon storyline. It's still a concern for me, as she becomes more a part of Derek's life and has more interaction with the other canon characters. So let me know if I start to pull you out of the story.

**Divine Dusk, ShaneBey, and chiarigirl :** Thank you for the reviews and I'm glad you're both enjoying the story. Hopefully I'll keep you all entertained with the following chapter.

**Mrs. Alexandra-Hale:** Yes, Holly is having... a very eventful and unnerving day, which is actually kinda fun to write, but can get difficult as far as keeping her reaction realistic.. but then what is a realistic reaction when you find out the guy you're crushing on is a werewolf, and people are trying to kill him. YIKES! Your reviews are so detail orientated I love reading them, so please, keep reviewing. Actually I'll endeavor to keep writing chapters worthy of reviewing!

**KeepItReelCool:** I chuckled when I read your review! Part of me is glad the story grabbed you to the point where you almost forgot to breath, but... you know... death not fun and all that. ;) Actually I'm thrilled you felt it was intense reading it because I felt the same writing it. I would say to date, chapter 7 was probably the hardest to write from the stand point of trying to keep the emotional reaction real without going over the top.

**For my other followers, favorites, and readers!:** I'd love to hear from you and get your takes on the chapters, if you're enjoying it, if there are questions or something you think is fabulous, or totally pulls you out of the story, so please review! I started writing a story I wanted and I still am, but I've also taken into consideration some of the feedback and reviews, which brings me to the next chapter...

So back by popular demand, I've given you guys another flashback into the young lives of Derek and Holly. Let me know what you think, and let me know if you'd like more, or if I completely ruined it for you. :-O Potentially I can do a flashback for every year leading up to the fire of Derek's house... or even if you all enjoy it enough a flashback chapter.

Anyways... read on and share your thoughts in reviews please!

**POTENTIAL SPOILER ALERT FOR EPISODE 4 & 5**

Chapter 8 – Butterfly Caught

_Eleven Years Ago…_

_Jeans rolled up just below his knees, Derek stood on a bridge of stones in the middle of the stream while Holly sat on the wooden bridge in a pair of jeans shorts. With her shoes off legs swung over the side submerging her feet in the water up to her ankles. It had been an exceptionally wet spring, filled with rainstorms every other day, enough to swell the river to the point where the bridge almost acted like a dam instead of its intended purpose._

_She studied the sky, lips pursed to the side slightly signaling she was deep in thought. Which meant she wasn't really seeing the sky._

"_Derek?" she leaned back as she finally pulled her attention from whatever planet it resided back to earth. _

"_Yeah?"_

"_Are you still going to Julie McAdams' birthday party Saturday?"_

"_Duh," he gave her a look that suggested he might consider she belonged on another planet at the moment. "My mom's taking us. You're still going, right?"_

"_I guess," she gave a shrug and leaned back to rest her weight on her hands behind her._

"_What do you mean you guess?"_

"_Well it's not like I was really invited."_

"_Yeah, you were," he corrected. "I was standing right there when she invited you."_

"_No, you got an invitation," she began talking while moving her hands as if the words would be easier to understand. It was endearing in a spastic sort of way. "You got a card, in an envelope with your name on it. I got a verbal invitation. More like a cast away invitation."_

_He laughed slightly at that and skipped a few more stones across the surface of the water. "What's a cast away invitation?"_

_She held a finger up for him to hold on a moment, cleared her throat, pushed her shoulders back and began in a high voice he assumed was meant to mimic Julie's._

"_Derek…," she even went as far as twirling a lock of hair around her finger like Julie did. "This is for you. It's an invitation to my party this Saturday. You're coming, right? It won't be a party without you there."_

_She rounded her shoulders forward a bit in a slouch, "I guess. Holly's invited too, right?" she spoke a bit more gruffly to imitate him._

_She tossed her hair back and went back into her mimic of Julie complete with a dramatic sigh. "Oh, um, sure, she can come too."_

_At the end of the little performance Holly crossed her arms over her chest and gave Derek a pointed look. "That is a cast away invitation. She only invited me because she knew you wouldn't come otherwise."_

_Derek gave a shrug, tossed the last stone and hopped from the stone bridge, sloshing through the water towards Holly._

"_Whatever, we don't have to go. I don't even know why she invited me. Until today I didn't think she even knew my name."_

"_You're kidding right?"_

"_What?"_

"_You really don't know?" Holly had arched both eyebrows nearly to her hairline._

_Derek shrugged again and pulled himself up onto the bridge to sit next to Holly. Like her, his left his legs over the edge, feet submerged in the cool water. _

_He was looking forward to the summer before their final year of grade school. Holly's parents were heading to Europe, or Asia, or somewhere overseas. Someplace that apparently thirteen year old children could go, not that he cared. Actually he did, since it meant Holly would be staying with them for half of the summer. He wasn't a hundred percent sure how that would work, since she'd be with them through two full moons, but he took his cues from his mother, and she didn't seem the least bit concerned._

"_She likes you."_

"_Shut up."_

"_It's true," she insisted. "I heard her and her friends talking about you. She invited you to her party so she can play seven minutes of heaven with you."_

"_Get serious."_

"_Derek, cross my heart and swear to God."_

_He studied her face carefully, but he didn't need to, he knew she wasn't lying. Some things about his new abilities were exceptionally easy to learn. It took him six months to master controlling his change, but his hearing and smell were almost instantaneous. Eighteen months later and listening to the sound of someone's heartbeat was as second nature as breathing._

_Derek rested his elbow on his leg and propped his chin in his hand. He knew he was scowling, but considering the situation it seemed appropriate. Being stuck in a closet for seven minutes with Julie wasn't his idea of heaven._

"_Hey Derek?"_

_He looked over at Holly as her words pulled him out of his thoughts. "Yeah?"_

"_Have you ever kissed a girl?"_

"_I've kissed my mom and my aunts… and my sisters."_

_She rolled her eyes and laughed softly. "Have you ever kissed someone who _wasn't_ related to you?"_

"_No," he shook his head. "Have you? Kissed a boy I mean?"_

"_Other than my dad?" he nodded at that. "No."_

_They sat there for a while in silence. Holly leaned forward slightly as if she were contemplating jumping down and into the water._

"_Do you want to?"_

"_Yeah," Derek looked over to find Holly watching him. "What you mean now?"_

"_We don't have much time."_

"_For what?"_

_She sighed and turned to face him, bringing her feet out of the water and sitting cross-legged facing him._

"_The party's tomorrow. You're gonna be in a closet with Julie McAdams, and I'll be in a closet… probably with Robert. I don't want my first kiss to be with Robert, he smells."_

_Derek tried, he tried so hard not to laugh but Holly looked so completely serious the sound just bubbled up. Even when Holly punched his shoulder it didn't abate the laughter until he was nearly doubled over on his side._

"_This is serious Derek. A girl remembers her first kiss forever. My mother told me it can even predict the type of guy you'll date for your whole life. Your whole life, Derek."_

"_So what?"_

"_I can't date someone like Robert!"_

"_You don't even know if you're gonna end up kissing Robert." _

_She glared at him for another moment and stood, muttering, "That's so not the point," as she stormed away._

_With a deep breath in and a sigh out, Derek stood and jogged to catch up with Holly._

"_Holly, wait."_

_She didn't stop which forced him to get in front of her and physically block her path._

"_This isn't funny Derek. A first kiss is supposed to be special and magical and something worthy of—"_

_Derek leaned forward and silenced her tirade with a press of his lips against hers. He ticked the seconds off on his finger until he reached five. His actions surprised him, but not as much as Holly's inaction. Once he realized he kissed her he expected her to shove him, followed by her decking him for ruining her perfect forever memory. Instead, once he reached five seconds and pulled back she stared at him with a dumbfounded expression._

"_What?" he pushed with a shrug. "At least now you won't end up with someone like Robert."_

_She took off at a sprint. Not a word, not a punch, just a quick dart down the trail, presumably back to his house._

"_Ah man."_

_He rubbed his palm over his hair and trudged up the pathway, taking his time to get back to the house. Uncle Peter leaned against the post by the back entrance. He stood, with a knowing smirk on his face, legs crossed at the ankle, arms folded over his chest._

"_What?" Derek pushed._

"_Nothing," Peter held his hands up in surrender. "Just… way to go champ."_

_Derek shook his head and continued to glare at his uncle. "It didn't mean anything."_

"_I… wouldn't tell her that," Peter warned._

"_Is she here?"_

"_You're mom just left to take her home."_

"_Great," Derek muttered and took a seat on the steps. "Now she's mad at me."_

"_Oh, I wouldn't necessarily jump to mad."_

"_Well why else did she leave?" the questioned asked as he craned his neck to look up to his uncle._

"_Derek…" Peter chuckled, took a seat next to him, and placed a hand on his back._

_Derek folded his arms over his lap and continued to study his uncle's face._

"_I think it's time your uncle Peter told you about women."_

* * *

Derek bolted awake, panting and wincing at the memory of the pipe running through his body. Not the worse pain he'd ever experienced, but definitely not something he put on his list for repeats.

"Holly?"

Her scent clung to the pillows but he couldn't smell her. He swung his legs over the side of the bed and carefully rose. Testing to make sure his body and head could handle the change in altitude. Outside the day turned a miserable shade of dark gray as the sun sank over the horizon, hidden behind bulky clouds that shed tears from the sky.

"Derek?" Cora stood from the couch, regarding her brother with large uncertain eyes.

"Are you all right?"

Even with Cora nodding in the affirmative Derek closed the distance, tilting her face up, looking over for any external signs of injuries. Satisfied there were none he looked around the loft, frowning as he turned a complete three sixty and didn't find her. She wasn't there. The only heartbeats in the building belonged to him and his sister.

"Where's Holly?"

He looked around again, even though all his senses confirmed what he already knew.

"Cora," his sister flinched slightly under his gaze. "Where's Holly?"

"She's gone."

He managed to wait a full five seconds to let the words sink in before he coiled his fingers around his sister's right arm.

"What do you mean gone?"

"She's not here, Derek. She left."

"And you didn't stop her?"

Anger and fear warred for winning spots across her face. Ultimately she yanked her arm away, rubbing the area his fingers surrounded.

"I told her to leave."

Anger, always an ally to Derek in the past, threatened to overtake him in the wake of Cora's words.

"It's not safe for her here."

"You think it's any safer for her out there?" he shouted gesturing out the window.

"You were hurt, Derek. You were unconscious. She came in with them…"

"…By force," he corrected through clenched teeth.

"I was protecting you."

"From Holly?"

"I've spent the past six years thinking you were dead, found out you're alive, and watched that bitch nearly kill you. I was protecting my brother and my Alpha!"

Derek almost laughed. The idea that he needed protecting from Holly was so profoundly ridiculous the only plausible reaction was laughter. Dandruff would kill him before Holly. He glared at his sister for several moments. Eventually he relented and stalked to the window. He couldn't stay mad at her, not when her intentions were pure. His gaze focused on the city as it stretched forward from the window. Still it presented a very real problem.

Holly was out there somewhere, alone, vulnerable to them. He told himself they wouldn't hurt her. Deucalion didn't want her, he wanted Derek. He wanted Derek in his pack. As long as Holly remained human she should be safe. Assuming of course, Deucalion didn't decide to use her as a pawn, or use her to force Derek to kill his Betas.

And he would. To save Holly's life, he would kill them all.

"I'm sorry," Cora offered, the apology came out begrudgingly but genuine. "I know she wouldn't hurt you, but after what happened today, after the past three months–"

Derek forced his body to relax which meant temporarily swallowing his anger long enough to pulls his sister into a hug. She was fighting and winning the battle not to cry. This wasn't the Cora he remembered. This wasn't the same sweet girl that used to try to follow him, Laura, and Holly around at every opportunity. The six years after they lost their family had been difficult for him, nearly impossible at times but at least he had Laura, Cora had no one.

"It's gonna..." he stopped before the lie left his lips.

It wasn't going to be okay, well maybe it would be it wasn't looking good for them. Most of his wolves hadn't even celebrated their first anniversary yet. Scott was an exception, but Derek still didn't know how much he could count on Scott, or how much he wanted to count on him. If anyone had a chance at a semi-normal life, it was Scott. But that would only happen if he stayed away from Derek. And sitting back and watching things happen to people he cared about wasn't Scott's style.

Derek didn't have to pull Scott in, he was already neck deep.

Cora broke from the hug and pulled anger around her as a defense. Anger Derek understood completely. It was his default setting.

"Derek, what are we going to do? He'll come back, you know he will. He won't stop until you kill us or he kills you. And if he kills you, there's no way he'll let any of us live."

"I know that."

His Betas weren't safe. As long as Deucalion was around none of his Betas were safe from the so-called Demon wolf. But why? Why had his mother never told him about Deucalion? And why was this Alpha gathering Alphas around him? His first Beta's death may have been an accidental occurrence resulting from a challenge, but the subsequent deaths had been on purpose. Had been a play for power.

And now he wanted Derek to do the same. And if by some miracle of miracles… by some ghastly horrific turn of events Derek gave in, how long would it be until Deucalion grew hungry again? How long would it take for him to attempt to consume the power of his Alphas the same way he consumed the power of his Betas.

He would have to strike first. He owed it to his Betas. He owed it to…

…Isaac.

Isaac reminded Derek so much of himself at times it scared him. Both of them were alone in the world, at least Derek had been before Cora surfaced. There was Peter but, Derek still had a hard time considering him family. No, Isaac was his family. Isaac stuck with him when the others ran off. More than anything, more than Scott, more than Cora, Derek needed to keep Isaac safe.

If only one Beta could make it out of this situation alive, that Beta needed to be Isaac. And Isaac wouldn't survive if he was around Derek.

But he wouldn't leave willingly. And if he thought Derek was sending him away to protect him, he'd dig in like a tick. So he packed Isaac's bag, had it waiting when he got in from school and kicked him out.

Perhaps one of the hardest things he had to do in his life, but something that desperately needed to be done. Deucalion knew where he lived, which meant Isaac wasn't safe there.

Cora wasn't safe there either, but getting her out would be more difficult. It would take more than throwing a glass at her to convince her to leave. She might have been the younger sister but right now she was acting like a mother wolf and he was her cub. He looked over his shoulder at her watching him and was struck by the abrupt need to get out. He needed air.

He needed to find Holly. Last time he saw her, Deucalion had his claws, literally in her neck. He needed to make sure she was all right. This had not been how he intended to introduce her into his life.

Derek pulled his phone out to call Holly and stopped short of touching her name on the screen. What if he called her and she didn't answer? Or worse, what if she answered, but didn't want to talk to him or see him? What if it had all been too much? Peter touted they were bonded but would the bond, if it existed, survive what she'd been through in the past twelve hours?

Derek pressed his lips together and slipped the phone into his back pocket. He didn't have to call, Holly to find her. Her scent was indelibly imprinted in his memory. It might take a while but he'd be able to find her.

"Where are you going?" Cora demanded when he finally pushed away from the metal table and headed towards the door. "You're going to find her, aren't?"

The tone of her voice the accusation in her tone caused Derek to turn around resting the weight of his eyes on her.

"You shouldn't be thinking about her right now, Derek. You should be figuring out how we're going to stop Deucalion."

"You think I don't know that?" he snapped. "The Alphas have been in my face for the past four months, trust me… I know how real and how big the problem is."

"But you're still going."

"If any of this is going to work, I need to make sure she is all right. I'm the reason she was here in the first place. I'm the reason she's been dragged into this."

"Keeping a secret from a child is one thing, keeping it from an adult...?" she scoffed. "How long did you expect to keep that up?"

"I was gonna tell her, Cora."

"Just let her go, Derek. Wherever she is, she's better off."

He knew Cora was right. He knew it would be better, definitely safer for Holly if he stayed out of her life. If only he knew how to do that.

"Peter's staying in an apartment downtown not far from here. Find him if anything happens."

He didn't wait for Cora to reply, mostly since he didn't give her the opportunity. Derek didn't head to the ground floor but the roof. He needed to run, and it would be easier to catch her scent out in the open instead of trapped inside his car with the windows down.

On the roof, Derek closed his eyes and let his other senses extend over the city. He knew the chance of successfully finding her this way fell around fifty-fifty. Her distance, the wind, if she were inside or outside, all played factors into how quickly, if at all, he'd be able to find Holly. Opening his eyes he moved quickly to his right. Five steps and he pushed off from the roof to land on the neighboring one.

Around the loft her scent already began to fade, but Derek knew someplace her scent would not only be stronger, but easier to track. He moved quickly through the city, alternating between rooftops and streets, shifting between running upright and loping. He stopped short of the school, easily catching Holly's scent, but hers wasn't the only one.

Scott, Isaac, Boyd, the scents of his Betas were easily pulled apart from the various people, animal and industrial scents around the school. And then there was the scent of the other predators, the other werewolves.

Derek rotated his shoulders and pulled his focus back to Holly. He tilted his head to the right, inhaling deeply where he caught her scent the strongest. Derek took off again loping through the streets and alleyways and rooftops of Beacon Hills. He brought his wolf to the surface enough to activate his inferred vision. The Argents might have been retired, but they weren't the only hunters in the world, and his improved vision would help in his tracking.

If Peter were right the bond would help. Of course in order for the bond to help, he would need to have a clue on how to work it. Something Peter hadn't elaborated on the other night, and something he never paid attention as a boy whenever he heard the grownups speaking about it.

He moved through the streets, periodically stopping and picking up the trail of the scent enough to alter his direction. His adventures led him to a Residence Inn, Marriott. An extended stay hotel barely over half a mile from Beacon Hills train station.

Derek waited. He let the minutes tick by one after the other until ninety of them passed. Long enough to confirm he hadn't been followed when he slipped inside. He moved with confidence through the lobby like a hotel guest heading to his room. Inside, finding her room was as easy as if they checked in together. Her scent led him to the corner room on the third floor near the fire exit.

For a moment, Derek debated entering the room through the open terrace door, but decided against it. Holly had been through enough. Showing up unannounced and uninvited would probably freak her out enough, no need to compound it by pulling a Batman.

He heard her moving inside the room, pacing back and forth. The pacing came to a dead halt when he knocked softly on her door, and transitioned to her increased heartbeat.

"Holly," he paused and placed his palm against the door.

She hadn't moved. He could only imagine she stood on the other side of the door, weighing her options.

"It's Derek."

Ten seconds passed between his words and her movement to the door. The longest ten seconds of his life, twenty if he counted the time it took for her to unlock the door, move whatever furniture away she propped against it away and open the door.

Dressed in a tee shirt, track pants, and gym shoes, she had the look of someone that at any given moment could either bolt out the door or attempt an evacuation over the terrace. Her still damp hair let Derek know she hadn't been too long getting out of the tub or shower. With her hair pinned up white bandages covering the wounds stood out against her caramel colored skin.

Holly looked exhausted and Derek reminded himself she was probably going on thirty-six plus hours without sleep.

"Derek?" she called his name and stared at him as if looking at him didn't convince her of his identity.

"Ho… wha…"

The next few things happened so fast they could have happened at the same time. Holly grabbed his arm, yanked him inside, looked behind him in the hallway to confirm Deucalion didn't lurk around the corner, slammed the door, slammed her body against his in a hug that threatened to rob his breath momentarily, and finally jerked back as a look of abject horror settled over her face.

"Ohmigod, Derek I'm so…" she reached a hand out towards his chest and yanked it back curling it against her breasts protectively. "Wait… how are you standing here? You had a pipe, literally piercing your body."

"I healed," he reached out carefully taking her curled hand into his. As he spoke, he slowly pulled her hand forward until her palm rest over the spot Kali had stabbed through with the pipe. "Being a werewolf comes with heightened healing. Things that would normally kill a man…"

"…You can recover from."

He nodded, and watched her as she stared at her fingers. She moved them over the shirt like she was trying to find the spot on his chest that had been damaged.

"It's not unlimited and depending on the severity it can take a while."

Holly stepped forward. The hand pressing against his chest slipped around to his back and was joined by her other arm as she pressed her body against his. Silently she cried against him, the only indication the slight shake to her shoulders and the increasing dampness on his shirt where her face rested.

"Holly."

"I thought you were dead. I thought you were dying. I wanted to help you but then you passed out and Cora started changing."

"Shh."

Derek wrapped his arms tightly around her. Content to let the seconds pass into minutes and the minutes multiple with her just held in his arms. As long as he held her, she would be safe, and as long as she was safe, Derek's world stayed whole. Instincts told him it was dangerous. As a human, Holly as fragile. Easily harmed and easily killed. As a werewolf, as one of his Betas she became a target for a madman. Regardless of how she existed in his world, existing in it period put her at risk.

He should have let her go and walked out. He shouldn't have come here at all. Maybe Peter was right and the bond was real. If it was… he closed his eyes and tried to push the thought out of his head.

Werewolves and other creatures of myths and legends he believed in. Fate, not so much.

"Let me see your neck."

"It's okay, I cleaned it."

"Unless you have some ability that allows you to turn your head a hundred eighty degrees you can't see it well enough to clean it out properly."

"I said it's fine."

"Then letting me take a look at it shouldn't be a big deal."

She pushed out an exaggerated sigh and released her hold around his midsection enough to allow her to tilt her head back and look into his eyes. A gesture he noted caused her to wince slightly.

"This is one of those not taking no for an answer instances, isn't it?"

"Yes."

She relented easily enough, and although it had been at his insistence, Derek missed the warmth of her touch the moment she dropped her arms. He touched her gently, his fingers barely grazing her skin as he peeled the tape securing the bandages away. He told himself it was so he didn't hurt her, and not because once he felt the softness of her skin not touching her would no longer be an option. It turned out to be surprisingly easy when he peeled back the gauze to reveal angry, deep wounds.

"Holly, why didn't you go to the hospital?"

"Because I couldn't think of a feasible lie as to why there are claw marks on the back of my neck that didn't have to do with tiger sitting for Siegfried and Roy."

Derek felt the anger boiling in him all over again, mostly at Deucalion, but his hands were not clean either. If Holly hadn't been there she wouldn't have gotten hurt, and she wouldn't have been there if it hadn't been for him.

"You need stitches."

She pulled away from him and reached around to replace the bandages."

"It'll be fine."

"No, Holly, it won't. Three of those are muscle deep. What happens if they get infected."

"Unless you have a needle and thread in your back pocket we don't have a lot of options." She moved to lean against the desk in the living room section of her multi room suite. "Hospitals ask questions."

Derek stared at Holly and echoed her display of stubbornness by folding his arms over his chest. He had every intention of making sure her wounds were tended to properly, even if that meant tossing her over his shoulder and take her from the inn kicking and screaming. But he couldn't deny she had a point. Hospitals asked questions but Deaton wouldn't. At least no questions he couldn't handle answering.

"Where are your keys?"

"Derek—"

"—We're not going to a hospital. I'm taking you to a…"

Derek paused, to a what? A friend? Deaton wasn't really a friend, at least he wasn't Derek's friend. He was sure Scott considered him a friend but Derek wasn't sure what he considered Deaton beyond an acquaintance that occasionally helped. Based on the encounters he had with him, he'd be willing to bet the feeling was mutual on the doctor's end as well. Laura called him an advisor, and the doctor himself confirmed he used to advise the Hale clan, though he didn't seem particularly fond of Derek.

A slight frown touched his face. Of course he couldn't blame Deaton for that, not completely. Derek had beaten the man and probably scared several years off of his life back when he thought he was the Alpha.

Still he helped him, sometimes. Usually when Scott was involved. He could only hope that Deaton wouldn't turn away an injured woman.

"…Someone that can help," he finally concluded.

Holly pushed away from the desk and retrieved a set of car keys she pressed into Derek's palm.

"I hope you know what you're doing."

Derek signed softly and led the way to the door. If she only knew, most of the times, he didn't have a clue.

* * *

"I thought you said we weren't going to a hospital."

"We're not."

Holly turned to face him with one single nail tapping on the door's arm rest. "An animal hospital is still a hospital. And don't you think they're going to ask questions when we don't come in with oh, say, an animal?"

"Trust me," he offered and climbed out.

He waited at the front of the car for Holly, but it wasn't until she slid her palm against his that he even realized he held his hand out to her. He looked down at their fingers, laced together and slowly let his gaze track up her arm, over her shoulder, along her neck, and came to a rest on her lips.

Those perfect lips.

He ignored them when they were kids. When they were kids it had been unbelievably easy to ignore anything girlish about her. When they were kids the only girlish thing about her, that he could see, was her face and hair. Then puberty hit… both of them. And tomboy Holly no longer had a tomboy body. But she always had perfect lips.

"We should go inside," he murmured softly.

"You're the one who stopped," she gave a gesture towards the door.

Derek settled for her nose, lightly touching his lips to the tip of her nose, and giving her hand a tug as he maneuvered them to the door. Even with the sign turned to closed, Derek knew Deaton remained inside. The lights in the back exam room leaked to the front and he heard the singular heartbeat of the advisory doctor.

He knocked on the glass and released Holly's hand so he could pull the collar of her jacket back. She rewarded him by batting his hand away as Deaton came to the front. He seemed uncertain as he watched them. Not afraid, Deaton never seemed afraid even when Derek had threatened him.

Not being afraid didn't equal foolish however, and every other time after the initial incident whenever Derek visited the vet it had been in the company of Scott, or Isaac, or both. Now he stood in front of the office, with a woman Deaton didn't know.

Nearly thirty seconds later Deaton must have decided neither of them posed a threat as he stepped through the partition to unlock the door.

"I'm beginning to think Beacon Hills' school system is woefully lacking. No one in this town seems to understand what the word _closed_ means."

"We… I need your help."

The words tasted like acid in his mouth. Bringing Scott to Deaton to be patched up was one thing, this was another. He was beginning to think it hadn't been a good idea but it was too late to back out.

Deaton seemed as surprised to hear the words as Derek had been to speak them, judging from the way both eyebrows arched into his forehead.

"By all means," he gestured for them to step inside and re-locked the door behind them. "What can I do for you?"

"This is Holly," he took her left hand this time, keeping the right one free for when she extended it to Deaton.

"I hope it will be a pleasure meeting you, Holly."

"Um… ok. Likewise," she replied with a confused look between Derek and Deaton.

"Holly was injured by an Alpha," Derek informed.

And he watched the sarcastic amusement leech from Deaton's face into a serious stern look. "When did this happen?"

"Today, this morning," he clarified. "Some of them look pretty deep."

"I think you should both come to the back."

Deaton held the partition door open while Derek took the lead and navigated the short hallway to the exam room.

"Lie down on your stomach so I can get a look at the damage please," Deaton offered a smile to Holly and gave a gentle pat to the metal exam table.

Holly gave him an apprehensive look before she took a seat on the table and slowly stretched out on her stomach. Her head turned with her right cheek resting on the towel Deaton positioned under her head.

"You're right," the doctor observed turning the lamp on as he took a closer look at the puncture wounds Deucalion's claws left behind. "The three center ones especially are deep enough to warrant stitches."

Derek remained standing, positioned against the wall and out of the way, as Deaton examined the wound. Hands shoved into the front pockets of his jeans shifted to arms crossed over his chest when Deaton's exploration caused a slight hiss from Holly. If Deaton felt he put himself in any danger by the momentary pain he caused his patient he didn't display it outwardly… or inwardly for that fact, since his heartbeat remained as steady as a metronome.

"I'm going to give you a local anesthetic and stitch these closed."

Derek moved closer then, pulling a metal chair out and settling it in front of the table. He touched her face lightly. His fingers moving over her cheek, down her jaw and ended with her left hand gripped in his.

"She doesn't like needles," Derek explained the doctor's questioning look.

"It's not the needles it's the puncturing of the skin and the pain."

"I promise it won't be as painful as getting five claws jabbed into your neck," Deaton pointed out.

"Point taken," she murmured softly.

Her fingers tightened around Derek's hand at the point of entry for the needle delivering the anesthetic, only to relax soon after, and ultimately release his hand completely after she drifted to sleep on the table while Deaton closed the wounds.

"How did this happen?" Deaton questioned, removing the rubber gloves and tossing them into the trashcan.

Derek got to his feet and folded his arms over his chest again but remained standing nearly Holly. "Deucalion found my loft, Holly was there."

"Who is she to you?"

"A childhood friend," Derek offered. "We grew up together until the fire."

"Let me rephrase the question," Deaton countered. "How deeply has she stepped into your life?"

Derek felt the frown settling over his brow as he studied the doctor, "Deep enough to drown."


	9. Chapter 9

DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING. Well that's not a true statement I do own some things, like my laptop, but I don't own Teen Wolf so there's that. I'm just having fun with the characters.

A/N: Hey everyone! Welcome those that have recently favorited and are following the story. I hope everyone is enjoying reading it as much as I'm enjoying creating this fan fic. It's actually turning out better than I could have hoped. To my reviewers... thank you so much! All of the feedback and encouragement you all have given is truly appreciated.

**Phoebe Nixon:** I'm glad the reaction and Cora's actions made sense. I've said this before, and I'm sure I'll say it again but it's very important to me to make sure not to pull people out of the story, that includes not having characters act completely different than they are in the show, and Cora, although frustrated does seem protective of her bro. Besides I like her!

**TheWalkingSilence:** Thanks! Now that Holly is more established, I plan to have her interacting with more of the canon characters in the coming chapters. So you'll definitely see some Cora/Holly interaction.

**DivineDusk:** There will be different POVs coming up. One of the things I wanted to do in the beginning was establish Holly, and also I needed to make sure I would be able to capture the voices of others in a believable way. I feel comfortable enough at this point to branch out a bit more so you guys will probably be seeing different pov from different characters incorporated in the chapters to come.

**OhhKellyRose:** Originally I was going to do weekly updates, but I'll probably try to do more bi-weekly updates as time allows. I giggled when I read you devoured the eight chapters so quickly. Talk about a boost to my confidence! But you're right, I shouldn't let the number of reviews get to me, especially since I'll be writing it anyway. Hope you enjoy this chapter as much as the previous 8!

**MrsAlexandra-Hale:** I wish WISH my first kiss had been that amazing. Of course I also wish at that age I had a best friend that looked like Derek. Alas... *sigh* One of the things that I love and hate about Derek is that he doesn't ask for help, even when he should. It adds to that adorable conflicted personality of his. Like he has to protect everyone and can't lean on anyone. I also love Peter, he's awesome. It's fun to imagine what he might have been like when Derek was younger. My vision of him is less of another parental figure and more of a big brother.

So, there will be more flashback scenes, maybe even an entire flashback chapter since it seems everyone is enjoying reading those, and to be honest with you all, I've really enjoyed writing them. It makes me rethink aspects of their relationship to envision how they interacted as teenagers.

As always, please review. If you read something that takes you out of the story, something you want to see more of, or something you want to see less of, please be sure to add that in my review as I can mold the chapters so we all continue to enjoy them together!

Anywho... this chapter is definitely rated M, so consider yourselves warned.

**NO SPOILER FOR ANY EPISODES**

**TAKES PLACE BETWEEN EPISODES 4 - 5**

Chapter 9 – Bad Romance

It felt like it should have been tomorrow or the day after.

It definitely didn't feel like less than twenty-four hours had lapsed. She'd spent the majority of the day in a hyper-aware, at times nearly frantic state. Her mind never drifted far from the memory of Derek impaled, of the blood thick red, and then black blood oozing from his body. On the moments she could see more than Derek, run through and bleeding, she saw him lying unconscious on the ground behind a rapidly control losing Cora.

She tried to preoccupy her mind with other things. The repairs in the library had been finished which meant the transition from the boiler room and the classroom began. Practice with the swim team, finding someplace else to stay. The extended stay inn was a temporary solution, but she already decided her childhood home wasn't inhabitable anymore. At least not by her. Too many bad memories threatened to choke her every time she walked through the door. The thing with Derek only sped up the inevitable. She tried to focus her mind on mundane things, but it always returned to Derek. Was he dead? Alive? Did he need her?

When he turned up outside her door she felt like the elephant that parked itself on her chest since early that morning finally wandered off. But the feeling of desperation left the complete numbness in its wake.

Holly never felt so completely and utter numb in her life, well almost never. The day she stepped onto the patio and saw something at the bottom of the pool, only to get close enough and discover the something was her mother, came close. She felt like she moved through a dream, though a nightmare came closer to describing the events she witnessed. Several times as Derek drove she wondered if she were in the middle of a nightmare. When she pinched her arm and it led to absolutely nothing she decided to deal with the events as if they were real. At least until someone told her otherwise.

She remembered telling Derek she was hungry. She guessed that was why they ended up at a diner. Even though she didn't remember stopping, or walking from the car to the booth near the back, or ordering a burger and fries the waitress dropped off. At least she had been hungry. The thought of eating turned out to be more appealing than actually eating.

It started raining again, harder than it had earlier judging from the ferocity from the drops of water slapping against the window.

She watched Derek's reflection in the glass. Of course he had one, vampires were the supernatural creatures that didn't cast a reflection, not werewolves. She thought back to the lore on werewolves as she watched him eating. The events appeared to have no effect on his appetite as he wolf down his double burger.

Wolf down… she smirked at the expression, and the smirk turned into a chuckle which melted into a laugh.

"What's so funny?" Derek questioned confused.

"This," she made a broad gesture. "All of it. I wouldn't be surprised if an orderly didn't appear to hand us both medication."

"This isn't a hallucination," Derek stated sternly.

"I know."

"Everything that's happened in the past twenty-four hours did happen."

"Yeah," the amusement departed as abruptly as it arrived. "I know."

"You haven't eaten," he pointed out.

"I'm not hungry."

"You said you were."

"I guess I'm not anymore."

His face contorted in a concerned frown. He placed both hands on the table on either side of the plate. Those unsettled green eyes, eyes that she'd seen flash red in his loft, bore into her from less than five feet away. "I know you have questions."

That got another bout of dark chuckles from Holly. "Derek, I don't even know where to begin."

He didn't move. Not a flinch of blip at her words. He just sat there, watching her, like he could sit there watching her for the rest of the night.

"What time is it?"

That got him to move. A slight shift to his left as he pulled his phone from his back pocket, looked at the screen and replaced it.

"Ten eighteen."

Holly closed her eyes. It felt so much later than ten-eighteen. She watched his right hand slowly creep across the table, inching his fingers closer and closer to her hand. Once he was close enough, he brushed the tip of his index finger against the back of her hand. The contact was minimal at best, but even the slightest touch from him felt as comforting as a full body hug from others.

"On a scale of one to ten, with ten being join the witness protection program, how bad is this?"

"Twenty," he replied point blank.

Holly exhaled. It felt like she'd just been punched in the chest. "Is it going to get worse?"

"Probably."

"How much worse?"

He paused at that, staring down at their hands for a several moments before answering as clearly as he had earlier, "A lot worse. Bodies in the street worse."

"Why does Deucalion want you to kill your pack?"

"Some packs have initiation rites members have to pass before they are admitted."

"Then why do you want to join their pack?"

"I don't," he bit the words back as the first two came out in a louder tone. "He's not asking, he's dictating. I have two options."

She breathed in slowly remembering Deucalion's words. He wanted Derek to kill his pack but if he refused, if he didn't… Holly closed her eyes and exhaled softly.

"If you don't kill your pack, he will. Won't he?"

"Yes," he nodded in confirmation.

"And what does he want with me?"

"I don't know," the uncertainty clung to his words. "You're not in my pack," he frowned and curled his fingers around her hand. "But that doesn't mean he can't use you to get to me."

"Use me?" Holly swallowed audibly and curled her fingers around his hand. "Kill me?"

"Holly you can't come to the loft anymore. It's too dangerous now."

"I gathered that."

"Not because of Cora…"

"I know. Yes she scared me but I get it. She was scared, she thought you were dead." That brought a bit of a frown over her features as she met his eyes. "How is she alive? Not that I'm not happy she's not dead but I thought she—"

"—died in the fire?" Derek finished, "Yeah so did I. I don't know how she survived or where she's been."

"What are you going to do?"

"I don't know," he answered with a disparaging shrug.

Reluctantly, Holly pulled her hand from Derek's warm grip so she could press her fingers against her temples. Her head throbbed, either from lack of food or lack of sleep. For a moment as she stared into Derek's eyes she considered telling him about her run in with Deucalion. But she bit the words back and let them die on her tongue. She didn't know how much more he could take before his plate overflowed but she wouldn't add one more problem that needed to be solved. One more question that didn't have an answer. Besides, hadn't Deucalion been there before her? It could have all been an ugly coincidence.

Maybe if she repeated it enough times the lie would stick.

"I should get you back to the hotel," Derek spoke softly.

"This whole things makes going to work seem utterly ridiculous."

"You could just call in tomorrow, take a day off, and sleep in."

Holly chuckled softly and shook her head. "I think I'm already on thin ice with the principal."

"Why are you working there anyway?" Derek shifted his weight long enough to pull his wallet out and leave money for their food and tip on the table. "Your father may have been a bastard but your family was one of the wealthiest in Beacon Hills and you're the only surviving heir."

"I don't work at the high school for the money."

Holly stood and followed Derek to the entrance of the diner, waiting until he had the doors unlocked before running between the raindrops to the car. She felt like she should have added a 'but' to her explanation, most people would have. 'But I get fulfillment from working at the school'. 'But I want to give back to the community'. Only Holly didn't have a 'but' to add, not one that she felt she could explain.

It was less tied to something she wanted to do and linked to some instinctual requirement. She had to work at the school because she felt she needed to be there. She just had no idea _why_ she felt the need.

Holly leaned her head back against the head rest, closed her eyes and breathed in Derek's scent. He smelled like the forest, like rich dirt and cut grass. She almost lost him, she still might. She knew he wouldn't kill his pack, which meant he would have to kill Deucalion, and probably his pack… or they would kill him.

Derek pulled the car into the hotel lot and parked near the rear exit. From the outside, the door was accessibly only with a room key card. They entered through the door but used the elevators to take them to the third floor. Derek stopped her when they reached the door, she could only assume he was listening to any sounds that might be coming from the other side.

"You just listened to see if someone was inside, didn't you?"

"Yeah," he nodded, offered a hint of a smile and followed her inside.

"That's…" a nervous laugh trickled from her lips as she closed the door behind Derek and activated deadbolt and the bar lock, "Going to take some getting used to."

"Do you still want to get used to it?" Derek asked as he shoved his hands into the front pockets of his jeans.

Holly slipped out of her jacket, tossing it across the couch as the questions hung in the room. She felt the weight of Derek's eyes following her, waiting for her answer. She stepped out of her shoes and turned to face him. He had the look of a man bracing himself for the worse.

If she told him no, she would most likely never see him again, though she knew he would be there in the shadows, watching out for her. Protecting her, just as he promised, but giving her the space she requested.

"I'm not going to lie, Derek, your world terrifies me. You can inflict and heal wounds that should kill you. That _would_ kill me. I should be running, as fast as possible, in the opposite direction. But I'm not."

The neutral expression faltered slightly at those last three words. A crack in his stoic façade.

"I can't leave you. Even if staying puts me in harm's way I won't leave you."

"Being around me could get you killed."

"I'm more afraid of losing you again."

"Then you're crazy."

Holly gave a shrug as she slowly closed the distance between them. She'd never seen Derek afraid, but the look gracing his features couldn't have been anything other than fear. She knew better than to think he was afraid for himself. The fear was for her, for what Deucalion and his wolves could do to her.

"You used to call me crazy all the time."

"Holly. Leave," he insisted.

Holly touched his shoulders and trailed her fingers down his arms.

"Take the train or the bus… drive down to San Francisco and take a flight anywhere. The further away the better."

She abandoned his arm in favor of skirting her fingers under shirt, slowly pushing the cotton upwards. She wanted to see it for herself. Needed to see it.

He clenched his muscles at the initial contact and momentarily closed his eyes.

"Leave Beacon Hills. Put this town in your rear view tonight and don't look back."

She half expected him to stop her as she continued to push the shirt upwards and revealed the corded muscles of his abdomen. He tensed, his breath hitching at her kiss. She brushed her lips across the spot, once ruined by the pipe and now completely healed.

"Holly," her name left his lips on a soft sigh.

His entire body trembled under the embrace of her lips. She thought he would pull away; instead he dislodged the hem of his shirt from her fingers and pulled it over his head. Derek slid his fingers against her cheek, as his lips caressed hers in a kiss that ignited a smoldering fire from her mouth to her sex.

Holly held off breathing as long as possibly for fear it would wake her from some beautiful dream. When she finally pulled back for a quick gulp of air, the intense desire behind his eyes sucked it right back out.

She thought it would hurt when he claimed her lips again. That the onslaught of the kiss would be brutal and demanding. Derek cupped her face in his hands and captured her bottom lip between his teeth, tugging it into his mouth where he could relentlessly devouring it. Just as before, he used his mouth to seduce her, led by the sensuous dance of his tongue.

Derek pressed his solid build against her. She felt the corded thick muscles in his shoulders and back moving under the touch of her fingers. Her touch explored his shoulders, his back and down to his waist driven by the need to feel as much of him as possible.

She felt his touch against her back, his fingers under her shirt caressing her skin. She was vaguely aware of a tug against her bra a moment before Derek broke away from the kiss and removed the tee shirt and bra from her body. Her garments joined his somewhere on the floor.

He rejoined their mouths passionately, like her lips alone stood between him and death. He circled his arms around her body, one palm pressed against her back, the other fervently gripping her backside.

Holly molded her body against his, crushing her breasts against his chest. It felt like he was on fire, or maybe that heat radiated from her to him. She wrapped her legs around his waist when she felt Derek hoister her effortlessly into the air. Her lips departed from his to nip against his jaw, his throat, his shoulder. She needed to taste every inch of him, explore the contours of his body.

Quick strides delivered them to the bedroom. The soft sheets of the king sized bed greeted her back as he stretched across the surface. The absence of his body created a deepening ache between her legs. Each place he kissed felt touched by fire until each breath Holly capture came out in quick pants. He was stripping her, leaving her naked and quivering on the bed from his touch.

She sat up to reach for him the same time he rejoined her. Ten seconds. Ten long seconds for him to undress her, undress himself. Too much time passed. Holly needed to feel his body against her.

She opened her legs to him as he returned to her. His body balanced on his forearms keeping his weight from crushing her. He brushed the back of his fingers against her cheek, tracing the outline of her ear. Her own palms ached to touch him, satisfied only by the feel of his warm flesh as she skimmed them over his sides and down his back so her fingers curved against the swells of his cheeks.

She felt him hard and fully aroused at her entrance, but he paused and held himself at bay.

"Look at me Holly."

She didn't realize she'd closed her eyes until he made the request. Until she opened them to see those deepening olive pools staring down at her. Everything about him lay open and naked before her in those eyes. She touched his face, caressing her fingers against his jaw. Tracing her thumb against his lips.

He'd been waiting for her acceptance. The moment she touched him, he moved his hips, slowly pushing into her. Slowly joining their bodies until she thought she would burst from being so completely consumed by him. She watched his eyes flashing, glowing red to olive green, back and forth, like Christmas lights.

He waited.

Waited for her to adjust to the feel of him in her body. Waited for her to accept him. All of him.

Holly reached up. Her lips greeted him in a kiss that barely brushed against his lips. Her fingers curled around the back of his head and combed into his short hair, urging him down. It was all the encouragment Derek needed. He retreated only to roll his hips as he pushed back inside her. He captured the cry that slipped from Holly's lips as he devoured her mouth again.

Air.

Derek was her air. Everything about him, his body, his tongue, his sex worked to keep her alive. She needed to feel him, needed him to fill her in every sense of the world. She kissed him hard. Her tongue pushed past his, entering his mouth, desperate to convey the need he had awakened.

The dreams of sex with Derek paled against the experience. He moved his body, rolled his hips, and brushed his fingers against her side and moved them upwards to knead her breasts like he'd made love to her before. Like he knew exactly how and where to touch her inside and out to tighten the coil in the pit of her stomach.

Holly brought her legs up, bending her knees and wrapping her legs around the back of his thigh. She fell into sync with his rhythm, matching each thrust of his hip. Creating a path of fire against his body where her palms pressed, against his skin, where her nails dug into his flesh.

His pace remained steady and driven but he grew creative with the movement of his hips, rolling, pushing, some shallow, others deep and penetrating, but each tightened her body more driving her into a near frenzy until he pushed her over the precipice.

She felt like she was falling. Her climax created a möbius event. The muscle spasms of her sex pulsed against his. Derek thrust his hips harder and faster, unwilling to let the muscles keep him from her core. The friction he created just pushed her body deeper and repeatedly into a frenzied ecstasy release.

Their lips remained locked, devouring each other in a kiss. Tears leaked from the corners of her eyes. So much pleasure she felt her brain and body short circuiting. Holly wanted him to stop but needed him to keep going. Her body gorging from the pleasure he created.

Derek thrust savagely inside one last time before his own release lodged his body deep inside hers. His muscles tensed, arms straining and trembling with the effort to keep his weight from crushing her. He continued to kiss her as his passion peaked. His vocalization lost in her throat.

Gradually their bodies relaxed, spotted vision returning to Holly as she opened her eyes. Derek lowered his body against hers and pressed his lips to her temple. He slipped his arms under and around her, pulling her against his body as he rolled them onto their sides, facing each other. Locked in an embrace. His lips found the tip of her nose then, barely grazing it.

"That was better than I imagined," Holly sighed softly.

She slipped a hand around to his back and pressed the other to his chest, drawing an infinity sigh with the tip of her nail.

"You imagined having sex with me?"

Holly hoped the absence of light in the room hid the blush creeping into her cheeks and neck.

"You can tell when I'm lying, can't you?"

"Yes."

She exhaled a content sigh and decided to answer with silence.

Funny how a day that started so horrible ended so perfectly.

* * *

It hadn't been a dream.

Sunlight filtering in through the sheers covering the window illuminated Derek's face, giving him the look of a slumbering angel. He lay on his stomach, his right arm tucked under his pillow, his left flung over Holly's waist. As if even in sleep, he wanted to keep her close. He looked at peace, like the stress and problems from his life decided not to follow him into his dreams.

Holly propped her head against her hand and shifted closer to Derek on the bed. Her eyes focused on the triskele tattoo drawn in the middle of his shoulder blades. With her right index finger, she traced the pad over the spiral. Starting at the end, tracing it to the center, and tracing another branch to the spiraling end. By the time she reached the end of the last spiral, she settled back to focus her gaze on Derek's open eyes.

He stared at her. His eyes shifting as he seemed to study every aspect of her face.

"Did you know you have a few freckles on your back?"

He nodded his head slowly and rotated his body until he rest on his side. "When I was little my mother told me they marked the spots kissed by angels."

Holly grinned at the answer, "I like that."

"Me too."

She tried to keep her gaze focused on his, but his lips were too tempting. The harder she tried to stay focused on his eyes, the more she felt her gaze drawn to his mouth. He had a perfect mouth, beautiful lips. Beautiful lips that curved into a smile at the left corner.

Derek raised his right arm and cupped her cheek in the palm of his hand as he leaned in to place a delicate kiss against her lips. Fleeting, just the whisper of contacts. Holly imagined the kiss that woke Sleeping Beauty felt something like that.

"Hi," he whispered and brushed his thumb across her lips.

"Hi."

Lying in bed next to Derek, life seemed normal. No werewolves trying to kill them. No Alpahs. No Betas. Just them. But even as she realized it, Holly wondered, would the outcome be the same if the events were different. If she never hit Derek with her car, if he never saved her life in the boiler room of the school… if none of it happened, would she still be lying in bed with Derek?

"You're beautiful."

Those two words snapped her attention back to the werewolf sharing her bed.

"Did you hear me?" he questioned and traced his finger along the bone structure of her face. "I said you're—"

"—I heard you," she interrupted quickly.

"What's the matter?" he moved his thumb across her brow and down the bridge of her nose. "I thought women loved hearing they were beautiful."

"When it's true."

"You don't think I find you beautiful?"

Holly just stared into his expectant gaze. If she said yes, he would know she was lying, if she said no it would spark a conversation she had no interest in having. Did he think she was beautiful? Had he caught genuine feelings for her or did last night spring from open wounds on their soul? She held no illusions that part of last night was need based.

They both needed comfort, the touch of someone who cared for them. They both needed someone to chase away the demons of the day even if only for one night. It meant more to her than just sex, more than a warm body to bring her comfort. But Derek was a man, and a werewolf. And guys didn't necessarily attach the same emotional bond to sex as women.

Holly rolled over and swept the blanket aside but he wrapped his arms around her. Pulled her back into the cradle of his body. He held her tight. She felt the contours of his chest against her back. Felt the semi arousal nestles against the curve of her buttocks with no attempt to coax her legs apart. Instead he nudged his nose along the edge of her ear.

"I. Think. You. Are. Beautiful."

He punctuated each word with a delicate kiss to the curve of her ear. She didn't answer him, but then he issued a statement, not a question. He continued placing feathery kisses against her skin. Kissing behind her ear, along her jaw, and meandering down to her shoulder.

"Derek?"

"Hm?" his answer came through continued fleeting kisses.

"What does the triskele on your back mean to you?"

He chuckled softly and continued planting kisses against her skin. "What makes you think it means something?"

"Hello," she craned her neck enough to glimpse him for a moment over her shoulder. "Have we met? I might not have known you were a werewolf, but I'd be willing to bet I know everything else about you."

"Good point."

The heat from his chest faded as he pulled away from her enough to press two fingers against her back. He moved them in a circular pattern twice and branched them out. She pressed her lips together when his touched caused a shiver to run the length of her spine.

"Alpha," he spoke softly as he drew the first branch and came back to center. "Beta," when he made the second branch push away from the spiral, Holly realized he was tracing on her skin the tattoo on his back. "Omega," he concluded with the last branch.

"You're an Alpha?"

"Yes."

Holly parted her lips but stopped short of speaking. Her teeth gnawing softly on her bottom lip.

"Spit it out."

Derek settled down behind her again, though his fingers continued to stroke up and down her arm. Like he needed contact.

"Can a person become a werewolf from bite? Like in the _Wolfman_?"

"Only if they're bitten by an Alpha. If the bite doesn't kill them, they'll turn."

"Doesn't kill them?" she repeated turning to rest on her back. She let her gaze once again meeting his. One hand held the sheet in place, as if she were covering anything he hadn't already seen. "They have to be mauled?"

"No, it's just a bite but…" he pressed his lips together. "It's like a virus. Only if your body doesn't except it, it'll kill you."

"That sounds… risky."

"Especially now, with Deucalion…"

And just as quick as a blink the troubles of their lives settled in behind his eyes. He stared down at her for several more seconds before leaning in and pressing his lips to her forehead.

"I need to go."

Holly nodded and watched as he swept the covers aside. If he felt any embarrassment at his nakedness he didn't show it. She meant to look away, but once her eyes landed on his physique they refused to be denied. Every inch of him lean and toned. If fat existed she couldn't find it.

He slipped into his jeans, zipping them but leaving the button and belt undone as he moved to sit on her side of the bed. Holly propped herself up on her right elbow, her left hand still modestly holding the sheet to her chest.

"I never asked what you were doing in the boiler room of the school in the middle of the night."

"Reading," she answered softly. Her gaze searched his face though she wasn't sure what she expected to find, "Researching really."

"Researching what?"

"My mom. I discovered that her maiden name was from some ancient race of elves or something." She smiles at the last words that slipped from her lips caused Derek's serious expression to melt for a moment. "Maybe elves or hobbits. Though I'm not sure how I'd feel to find out I was related to hobbits."

"You haven't found out yet?"

"No, I did more sleeping than researching."

"You have some time now." Holly felt her heart breaking as Derek's smile faded. "Holly, what I said last night… Stay away from the loft. Do not come there, under any circumstances. It's not safe for you there anymore."

"It's not safe for you either."

"I can take care of myself."

"So can I."

"You can't," he caught his volume short of yelling at her but the fingers that curled around her arm showed no sign of releasing her. "Not against them you can't. If you tried, they would kill you, just to prove they can. Just to hurt me. You see them, any of them, you run. You hear me, you run."

"Derek you're hurting my arm."

He released her instantly and snatched his fingers away with a wide surprised gaze. His eyes focusing on the arm in question.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean—"

"—it's okay. I know," it was a conscious effort to keep her left hand from rubbing her bicep where his fingers dug in. "I get it. They're werewolves. Whatever I do to them they'll heal. Whatever they do to me will probably result in me bleeding out externally or internally."

"Just…" he paused staring at her with a pained look. "If they come for you, get some place public. If you can, get to Dr. Deaton."

"The vet?"

"He's more than just a vet. He knows about us, about my kind. More importantly he knows how to defend against us."

"You're going after them aren't you?"

"If I don't kill them, they'll kill me, or my Betas. I can't let that happen."

She felt a hand squeeze her heart, "Am I going to see you again?" his silence caused the hand to tighten. "Derek."

"Not until this is finished."

He kissed her hard. The kind of kiss that lovers gave before going off to war. If Holly thought it would have done any good to cling to him, if she thought it would have stopped him she would have flung herself from the bed, latched onto his ankles, and never let go.

"Derek!"

She was out of bed before the door closed. The robe in the chair snatched up and hastily wrapped around her body as she ran from the bedroom to find the apartment beyond empty. A gentle breeze blew in from the open terrace door.

"Derek!"

Holly darted to the terrace and looked up, and then down but saw no trace of him. The fingers tightened their hold around her heart as she stepped backwards into the room. She felt like she'd be sick, one hand moving to rub against her stomach, the other touched the back of her neck, flinched and stopped.

It didn't hurt.

Deaton gave her a local, but it wore off hours ago. Hadn't she felt it throbbing last night at the diner? Holly retreated into the bedroom and into the connected bathroom. In the mirror, she peeled the bandage off and placed it on the sink. Five slits of dried blood stained the cloth, but as her fingers gingerly explored the ruined skin they didn't meet with the feel of stitches or pain but smooth, unblemished skin.

"That's not possible."

Frantically Holly used her palm to feel for the wounds, sliding her hand lower than they originally had been. Finally she abandoned the bathroom long enough to bring back the compact mirror from her makeup bag.

Turning her back to the mirror she dropped the robe and lined the compact up to see her neck and nearly dropped the small hand held mirror to the ground.

Her skin hadn't just mended; it didn't hold any evidence of having been damaged at all.

Not a scratch.

Not a scar.

Not a trace of the injury remained.


	10. Chapter 10

DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING. Well that's not a true statement, I do own some things, like my laptop, but I don't own Teen Wolf so there is that. I'm just having fun with the characters.

A/N: Hello readers, time for another installment!

**OhhKellyRose:** Glad you're still enjoying! Hope you like this chapter as much as the others.

**Guest:** Sorry for the confusion, the comment about the hobbits and elves was my attempt at Holly's sense of humor. She's really not (though I love LoTR and The Hobbit), though more about her ancestory will begin to be revealed in future chapters.

**Phoebe Nixon:** LOL! I know right! But at least he wasn't all like 'thanks for the fish, see ya!' Derek is such a fun tragic and flawed hero to write. And like I told Guest above, more about her to come, but I gotta keep you all guessing don't I? ;)

As always I really enjoy hearing what you all think about the chapter/story whether it's specifics of general. If you read something that sparks a question don't be afraid to ask, I'll answer as best I can. Or if something is unclear lemme know, again I'll clarify it as best I can without giving anything away.

Reviews are awesome so please leave them and let me know what you think!

**POTENTIAL SPOILER ALERT FOR EPISODE 5**

**TAKES PLACE BETWEEN DURING EP. 5 PRE-FIGHT**

Chapter 10 – Fade Out Lines

He could still smell her.

After the shower, and after the change of clothing, Holly's scent lingered on Derek's skin, conflicting him. Smelling her grounded him and kept his cheese teetering on the edge of his cracker instead of sliding off entirely. But it made it harder to breathe, harder for him to think about anything other than Holly. The way her skin felt under his palm. The sound she made when he brushed his thumb over her nipple. The acceptance in her eyes, even after she witnessed the flickering of wolf in his. The trust of her falling asleep next to him. He spent half the night just watching her sleep, so peaceful.

Love.

Derek uncurled his fist and pressed his palm flat against the window. He loved Kate. At least he thought he did. The feelings were similar, but how could he compare one to the other. Kate betrayed him, destroyed his heart and ruined the chance of feeling anything more for another human being than duty bound. Ruined the chance for feeling _anything_ for a female.

Or so he thought.

Six years later, it took Holly less than a week to find what he kept hidden from everyone, including himself. It took Holly less than a week to find her way inside. But what once was dead, felt painful coming back to life. He couldn't be with her, not without risking her life, but the knowledge of not being able to see her had him nearly climbing out of his skin.

Her voice screaming his name echoed in his ears, haunted him. And only five hours passed since he left her. Would Deucalion go after her to get to him? Derek knew the answer to that question. Deucalion wouldn't kill his Betas, he needed Derek to do that, but there was not a doubt in Derek's mind, Deucalion wouldn't hesitate to use Holly as a pawn. The question wasn't would he go after Holly. The question was when and what would be the results.

Kill her?

Or bite her?

Just because she asked about how someone became a werewolf, didn't mean she wanted to become one herself. Assuming she didn't die from the bite. Though the longer Derek thought about it the more he realized it didn't matter. If Deucalion decided to bring Holly into the equation, there was ultimately one outcome for her.

Death.

Either he would kill her outright, the bite would kill her, or after she changed Deucalion would kill her or force Derek to kill her. There was a small chance he would try to force her to become an Alpha by killing one, but if that had been Deucalion's plan he would have done it already.

Derek twisted it, turned it, and twisted it some more and the same answer kept coming back to the multiple problems. They were all Alphas but Deucalion was the glue. Deucalion had gotten them all to kill their packs. They all fell into step and followed Deucalion's lead. Deucalion was the common denominator. Maybe just Deucalion had to die.

Remove the linchpin and everything falls apart. But was he making the right decision. Times like these he missed Laura the most. She was smarter, better at strategizing than he could ever hope to be.

A better leader.

She knew coming back to Beacon Hills would be dangerous, that was why she came herself instead of sending him.

"Derek?" Cora finally stopped pacing for more than two seconds together. "Is the plan to stand there staring out the window until they come back?"

He clenched his jaw and stared at his sister's reflection in the window's glass. That sarcastic, cynical tone was becoming all too familiar in Cora's voice. Derek didn't like it. Didn't like the change in Cora or the hardness she wore like a second skin. He missed the little sister that had a smile that could light up a room. The ticklish sister that woke him up Christmas mornings by bouncing on his bed.

Derek wasn't naïve enough to presume resolving the Alpha problem would revert Cora to the sweet, bright girl she was before the fire, but maybe it would be a start.

"Any idea where they are?" Derek asked turning to face Cora with crossed arms.

"We could start at the bank."

"The bank," he repeated with his on healthy dose of cynicism. "You really think they're living in an abandoned bank?"

"You're living in an abandoned warehouse," she countered.

"The bank was a place to keep you, Erica, and Boyd trapped and controlled. Not a place for them to hold up. Deucalion's not going to hide."

"What then? Stay here and wait? Brilliant plan, Derek."

"Are you done?" he regarded her like a teacher might a precocious impatient child. When she silently relented with folded arms he continued. "At three o'clock you're going to take my car, pick Boyd up from school, and you two are going to follow the twin Alphas."

The scowl disappeared. He found it hard to say which surprised her more. That he gave her a task to do to bring them closer to the Alphas, or that he told her to take his car.

"What if they see us?"

"Does that mean you don't think you're up to the task?"

"I didn't say that," the scowl returned.

"Good, then don't get caught."

Cora walked to the table, picked up the keys to the camaro, and paused as a different look settled across her features. She turned the keys over, eventually looking up from them to Derek.

"What?"

She was going to say something, he knew she was but the moment passed as soon as it came. Before the thoughts in her head surfaced to her lips, Cora turned and headed for the door, grabbing her jacket from the chair on her way out.

* * *

Cora drummed her fingers on the steering wheel as she waited for Boyd to wrap up track practice. She could see the bikes belonging to the twins but they couldn't see the Camaro, at least not without looking really hard. She'd already confirmed that much. Wouldn't do for them to realize they were being followed before they got out of the lot.

Her gaze drifted from the athletic building to the high school itself and couldn't ignore the slight pang of envy she felt as she watched a group of girls giggling, chatting, clutching their books and walking to their cars. Their main concerns centering around if they wore the right outfit, or what they might have gotten on a pop chemistry test, or if they would be accepted into their first choice for college or have to settle for one of their backups. That should have been her life, could have been. If her life hadn't been so tragically and completely altered six years ago she would be in her senior year now.

Pressing her lips together, Cora shoved the self-pity into a box in the darkest corners of her mind and snapped the lid on tight. It had been a long time since her life had been picture perfect, chances were it never would be again, and wishing wouldn't change reality.

She glanced at the dashboard clock again and looked up in time to spot Holly leaving the building and heading for her car. She moved quickly through the parking lot, weaving through the rows of cars with quick purposeful steps as if she had a destination in mind, and only a set window of opportunity to make it there. Cora hadn't actually meant to exit the car, she definitely hadn't intended to approach Holly, but she found herself standing in the woman's path all the same.

Holly's walking came to an abrupt stop when she looked up from hunting in her bag for her keys and stopped just short of colliding into Cora. The keys dropped from the hand that covered her mouth, almost followed by the books in her arms.

"Are you always this jumpy?" Cora asked as she bent down and scooped the keys up. She let the ring dangle on her finger and held it out to Holly.

"Only when people appear out of nowhere and scare me half to death." She started to reach for the keys, hesitated a moment as she met Cora's eyes, and finally quickly yanked them from her finger. "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

"If you're here to pick up Isaac I think the track team was heading into the locker rooms as I was leaving."

"I'm here to pick up Boyd."

"Boyd?" she repeated with a confused look. "Boyd… the kid that was missing?"

"He was with me in the vault."

"Oh?" it took another beat before realization settled in. "Oh. He's…"

"Yeah."

They stood there for a moment. Cora with her arms folded over her chest, partially watching Holly, partially watching the gym building. Holly clutching the books in her arms, nervous energy spilling from her in waves. Not that Cora could blame her. She probably should have apologized, but that would be admitting she was sorry for her actions. She would do whatever was needed to protect Derek, even if that meant scaring the shit out of his… she frowned and pulled her attention back to Holly.

"Look, good luck with the whole picking up Boyd thing, but I have some place I need to be so…"

Holly stepped around her but Cora quickly reached out and held the woman's bicep to keep her from leaving.

"What are you to Derek?" she spoke softly releasing her arm, "I can smell him on you."

She didn't want to trap her, she just wanted to talk to her. She just had no idea about what. She used to love talking to Holly. She never talked to her like she was just a child, even though she was seven years older than Cora.

"That's… mildly disconcerting."

"They point is they will be able to smell him too. And if they think you mean anything to him, they'll use you to manipulate him."

"I know, Cora. Derek gave me a similar speech this morning. Where he left me with the very distinct impression that we just shared out last moments together."

Cora quietly pulled in a breath and looked away from the woman, giving her the illusion of privacy while she reigned in the tears that wanted out. Did Derek love Holly? Cora was willing to bet he did, even if he didn't admit it to Holly or himself. Otherwise he wouldn't be trying so desperately to protect her. What was becoming clearer to Cora, was that Holly had genuine feelings for her brother.

Cora witnessed it firsthand. Women drawn in to a male werewolf by the animal magnetism. Not knowing what it was about him, but knowing he exuded something that made them want to possess him. She knew it hadn't been like that for Holly when they were kids, since she and Derek had been joined at the hip before he hit puberty and changed for the first time. But she hadn't been convinced it wasn't like that now. At least she hadn't been convinced until that moment.

"Derek's strong. He's a survivor," Cora assured her.

"I know, but there's three of them."

"Five."

"Five!"

"Two of them go to school here. They're twins. Ethan and Aiden."

"I know them," Holly frowned slightly. "Not know but I've seen them. Jesus is there anyone in school that isn't a werewolf?"

"Just them. And Boyd and Isaac of course. And Scott McCall."

"So it's Derek and four teenagers against a pack of Alphas."

"And Uncle Peter," Cora added reluctantly. She wasn't a hundred percent she should count Peter as an ally or just an observer.

Holly closed her eyes for a moment and sighed. "What can I do to help?"

"Nothing."

"Yeah, that's not an option for me."

"It has to be," Cora snapped quickly and instantly regretted her tone. "You want to help stay out of the way. If Derek's concentrating on your safety he'll do something stupid and probably get himself killed. You know it and I know it."

She watched Holly physically backing down, reluctantly, but backing down all the same.

"If anything happens to him—"

"—I'll let you know," Cora finished for her and glanced to see Boyd heading in the direction of the Camaro. "I gotta go. Stay out of this Holly," she warned as she began to move away. "Not just for your sake, but for Derek's."

Cora glanced over her shoulder on the way to Derek's car. Holly continued to watch her, the scowl that settled over her face still etched in her features.

Waiting at the passenger door, Boyd followed Cora's gaze to Holly, studying her.

"Is that Ms. Williams?"

"It's no one."

"Whatever you said, she doesn't look happy."

Cora climbed behind the wheel and started the car. A few moments later the twins appeared from the gym, claiming their bikes and heading north of the high school. Cora put the car in drive and followed them. She purposely hung back nearly a block, making sure to keep them in her and Boyd's sights. The odds of losing them increased, but the odds of them spotting the tail decreased.

"Right at fifth," Boyd offered. "Does this mean Derek has a plan?"

"Not yet," Cora answered, "At least not one that he told me before I left, but I've seen that look before. He's cooking something up."

"Will it work?"

"Am I a mind reader now?" she offered the barest of smirks.

They continued further hitting the city limits of Beacon Hills. Their destination obviously the downtown area.

Boyd shifted uncomfortably in the seat. Cora couldn't help but noticed since gaining his freedom from the vault, it didn't take Boyd long to become uncomfortable with enclosed spaces. Not that she could blame him. When the rain let up last night she opted to sleep on the roof instead of in the loft. She told herself it was to be closer to the moon, but she knew part of it was to feel the air on her face. It reminded her she truly was no longer captured.

"Think they've spotted us?" Boyd questioned still watching the twins on their bikes.

"No. Speed's the same and they're not making a bunch of turns like they're trying to shake us. Or trying to make sure they're not being followed."

"You think they'd do that?"

"It's what they do in the movies."

Boyd glanced at her, mulled it over and must have come to the same conclusion as he nodded his head slightly.

It didn't take long once they turned onto Merrimac. Both motorcycles turned into the parking garage of a residential high rise. Cora pulled her car to the curb, shutting the engine off and watching the exit. She didn't think they caught on to being followed, but in the event they only ducked inside to lose her, she'd wait outside for a bit.

"So you gonna tell me why you were talking to Ms. Williams now?"

Cora snorted loudly. "You just don't give up, do you?"

"I already know it has something to do with Derek," he informed.

"Then why do you keep asking?"

"Because I don't know _what_ it has to do with Derek. Just something."

"Ohmigod, fine. She's his girlfriend."

"Derek has a girlfriend? Why didn't he tell me about her?"

"I don't think he wants anyone to know."

"Why not?"

Cora pursed her lips slightly, only sparing a glance in Boyd's direction. "Did you seriously just ask me that?"

"I figured maybe you get special privileges because you're his sister?"

"She was at the loft when the Alphas came."

"What?" Boyd didn't just turn his head; he nearly turned his entire body to look at her. "The Alphas came for Derek at his loft?"

"He didn't tell you yet?"

Boyd shook his head and settled back in the seat again. At least her brother was being consistent. He was pushing them all way to keep them safe. First Isaac, then Holly, and now Boyd. She wondered how much longer until he began shutting her out for her own good as well. How long until he decided to sacrifice himself?

"I think you'd better come back to the loft with me," she stated getting comfortable while they waited. "But in the meantime, I'll fill you in on what happened yesterday."

* * *

Holly pulled into the parking lot of the vet clinic, turned her car off, and sat there behind the wheel, staring at the clinic. Part of her felt she was making a mistake. Derek told her to seek Deaton out if she were in danger, but spontaneous healing didn't exactly qualify as danger. And there was the small problem of not knowing what Deaton was. Was he a werewolf too? Derek didn't mention him being a werewolf. Then again, she'd known Derek since she was ten and he never mentioned he and his entire family were werewolves either.

She rubbed the back of her neck lightly, still not quite believing the wounds healed, the stitches disappeared, and the skin looked as if it had never been broken. When she lowered her hand she grazed her fingers against the books in the seat next to her. She searched for the answers in the pages but only found more questions.

"You're not going to get your answers sitting out here," she muttered to the car's interior.

Decision made, Holly grabbed her purse and headed for the door.

"Come on in," Deaton's voice called from the back at the sound of the bell over the door.

"Dr. Deaton?" she called out and frowned at the timid sound of her voice. If she was going to do this, she wasn't going to mouse around with it.

"Holly," Deaton greeted as he appeared from the back. "Is everything all right?"

"I'm," she paused a moment. "Not sure. I'm actually hoping you might be able to help me figure that part out."

"I can try."

Holly found reassurance in his smile and demeanor. As he'd done last night, he pushed the low wooden partition opened and gestured for her to head back to the exam room. Unlike last night she found a teenager when she stepped into the room.

"Ms. Williams?" the kid looked at her surprised.

She felt her brows drawing down as confusion took the form of a slight frown. "Do I… have we met before. I'm usually pretty good with…"

"I go to the high school," he informed with a friendly enough smile.

"Ah, okay, sorry," she returned it. "Still new, still learning the faces."

"What can I help you with, Holly?" Deaton asked as he joined them.

Holly glanced to the teenager for only a moment before fixing her gaze back on the vet. "You know, it's probably… it's not a big deal. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have bothered you."

"You needn't worry about, Scott," Deaton offered. "He's known about werewolves for some time now."

Her gaze moved back to the teenager. "Scott McCall?"

Scott and Deaton exchanged a quick look between themselves.

"I had a conversation with Cora about Derek's pack."

"You know Derek?" it was Scott's turn to look surprised and again share a quick look with Deaton that Holly couldn't read.

"We grew up together, which has nothing to do with why I'm standing here. I'm sorry, I'm just freaking out a little bit."

"Scott, would you get Holly some water?"

Scott nodded and busied himself with getting a bottled water from the fridge while Deaton put a studious look on his face.

"The stitches you put in my neck last night? Yeah, this morning they were gone."

"Gone?" both Scott and Deaton repeated at the same time.

She touched the back of her neck. "Gone," she confirmed.

Deaton gestured for her to have a seat and turned the exam light on. Positioning it so he could get a clear look at the back of her neck.

"This is… impossible." He murmured softly.

"No, no don't say that. Impossible is not an option."

"Derek said you were not a werewolf," Deaton stated and pulled the collar of her shirt down as if he wanted to confirm the claw marks had indeed magically healed and not just magically migrated lower.

"I'm not. Until two days ago the only time I saw werewolves was on my annual viewing of _Wolfen_ on Halloween."

Scott held the water bottle out to her with an expression that looked like he was dying questions but held his tongue.

"Did he bite you last night?"

"No."

"You're sure?"

"I'd remember if Derek bit me."

"What about the other Alphas?"

Holly shook her head. "Just the claws."

"You know about the other Alphas?" Scott finally questioned.

"I had the misfortune of meeting three of them, including Deucalion. He paid a visit to Derek's loft yesterday."

She watched a deeper scowl settle across Scott's face. Derek hadn't told him. She wondered if he told any of his other Betas. Cora made it sound like they were going after the Alphas as a pack, but if Scott didn't know did that mean Isaac and Peter didn't know?

Holly winced as she felt her chest tightening with the all too familiar tells.

"Are you okay?" Scott asked.

"No. Der… Derek's going to fight them… by… alone… they'll kill… can't breathe…"

"Holly," Deaton began in a calm voice. "Scott, would you get the jars on the counter please?"

She tried. Holly tried to focus on her breathing but she couldn't see anything but Derek the night he found her in the boiler room. Bloodied and clawed from two Betas. What would five Alphas do to him. The more she tried to concentrate on her breathing the more she ended up hyperventilating.

She would pass out soon, she felt herself getting light headed. Maybe if she did she would be able to… lavender.

Holly breathed in the scent of lavender and something else. She took another breath and breathed the smell in deeply.

"That's it," Deaton said in that calm, encouraging voice. "Deep breathes."

"What is that?" she questioned and looked up to find the doctor screwing the cap back on a small glass jar.

"Lavender and aloe," he offered displaying a friendly, albeit secretive smile. Like he knew the secrets of the universe and would part with them if the correct questions were asked. "Lavender is known for its calming effects. And I find the aloe softens the hands."

It took her a moment to realize whatever Deaton pulled from the jar he rubbed into her hands.

"How long have you had panic attacks?"

"Um, since I was a teenager. I haven't had them in a couple years."

"And they returned when you returned to Beacon Hills?"

"Technically they returned after I hit Derek with my car."

"You hit Derek with your car?" Scott questioned with the same surprised look from earlier.

"Accidentally, he ran out… it's a long story."

"Have you had any prior experience with episodes of spontaneous healing?"

"No. I mean, I'm a fast healer but nothing like or even close to this. I've never healed anything, not even a paper cut overnight."

Deaton nodded slightly. The secretive smile replaced with a pensive look of concern.

"What did you do last night when you left here?"

"I said I was hungry so he stopped at a diner, I didn't eat anything I just had some tea."

"Herbal tea?"

She gave him a pointed look with her left eyebrow elevated. "Okay, no offense but I didn't spontaneously heal or whatever you're calling it from a cup of herbal tea."

"No, but it could play a factor in what happened."

"I don't know, if it was herbal," Holly felt the frown returning. "Anyway, he took me back to my hotel and when we woke up this morning… surprise." she gestured to her neck.

"He spent the night?" Deaton confirmed.

"Yes," Holly could feel warmth rising from her neck to spread across of cheeks. "He spent the night."

"Are you and Derek," Deaton paused and gave a quick glance in Scott's direction. "Intimately friendly," he finally concluded with a knowing smirk.

"We…" she glanced at Scott as well who tried to look as if he weren't at all involved in the conversation. "Weren't until last night. We grew up together, we were best friends. Sometimes sort of dating but not really it was… kind of—"

"—Complicated?" Scott offered.

"Undefined," Holly substituted.

"Perhaps not as undefined as you might think," Deaton offered.

It was enough to capture not just Holly's attention but Scott's as well.

"I don't follow you."

"What are your feelings for Derek?"

"What? Wow, that's… is there a quota for personal questions you need to reach?"

"Derek doesn't come to me for help," Deaton surmised as he leaned back against the metal examination table Holly occupied the previous night. "Generally, Derek doesn't go to anyone for help except as a last resort, or the person he needs help for means a great deal to him. So I'll ask you again," he met her gaze with a look her mother used to give her when Holly was young and decided to be particularly annoying. "What are your feelings for Derek?"

"I… care… very deeply for him," she cleared her throat and glanced from Deaton to Scott, who once again had a rather surprised look on his face. "Maybe… even, love him."

"There's a theory I have," Deaton stated after a moment. "It's not common. It's not rare typically but I've only heard of it happening between wolves. Not humans."

"Don't leave us in suspense, doctor," Holly tried to make light of the situation even though she felt her heart about to pound out of her chest.

"Some wolves have the ability to heal each other. Commonly a parent has the ability to heal their offspring and vice versa just from physical contact. Not as common, but still not completely rare a mated pair can heal each other by physical contact."

"A mated pair?" Holly questioned.

"One that has a deep connection and has shared intimate contact."

"But, Holly's not a werewolf," Scott offered softly. Holly couldn't help but nod as he spoke the words in her head. "And, Derek never mentioned you," he confessed in a reluctant tone.

"Derek doesn't mention anyone," Holly offered and felt her throat threatening to close from a surge of emotions. "He think it makes him vulnerable or exposes them to danger or some such bullshit."

"If you don't care about anyone, no one can be used against you." Deaton offered.

"That still doesn't explain why it worked on me," Holly concluded.

"No it does not," Deaton agreed. "And if that is what happened, that makes you, a very interesting anomaly."


	11. Chapter 11

DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING. Well that's not a true statement, I do own some things, like my laptop, but I don't own Teen Wolf so there is that. I'm just having fun with the characters.

A/N: All right first let me say while I really enjoyed episode 8 (poor Derek), it doesn't really mess with the childhood I've been creating for Derek and Holly so this is where we get into the slight AU. I figure since Kate entered the picture at some point there's room for Paige to so the flashback below would primarily take place prior to Paige. Hopefully this won't stress you all out too much and y'all will continue reading and enjoy my fanfic! *crosses fingers*

To my reviewers:

**OhhKellyRose:** Another chapter! Yay. Hopefully you'll be bummed when you get to the end of this and I mean that in a good way of course. Thanks for the kudos and thanks for reading!

**Guest:** I understand, a lot of people are like that with characters they like, I know I am. The more I like them the more I care about what happens to them, but I want to take a minute to say thank you. Thank you for letting me know that I've written a character you like enough to get pissed off at someone that hurts her. That really means a lot to me as a writer, to know I've created a character worthy of people bonding with on some level. Deaton's awesome! He's like Dumbledore and Yoda.. Dumbloda?

**PhoebeNixon:** I got your PM with your full review! I figured pulling in some of the "off screen" scenes would be a good way to help me flesh out some of the other characters in the story and in my head, as well as giving you guys some of the canon characters we all love.

**RHatch89:** Thanks for the feedback. I hope you enjoy chapter 11 too!

**MrsAlexandra-Hale:** The more I see of Cora in the show, the more I like her! Especially during those scenes with Stiles. Their interaction reminds me so much of how Derek and Stiles interact it's brilliant! I'm looking forward to working more of those in since Stiles is one of my favorite characters, but I haven't really been able to incorporate him much into the story. I have a feeling that will be changing.

And now, so I've done something different with this chapter, I've made it completely a flashback. I know... risky right, but I kinda like delving into their past. And like I said above it does take a different path than episode 8 so again, my apologies for that, though it did give me a couple ideas for a future flashback. We'll see how this goes. If you guys don't like it let me know and I'll keep the flashbacks to only part of present time chapters.

**TEN Years AGO…**

Chapter 11 – Everyday is Halloween

Ten Years Ago…

The knock on the door came as no surprise to Derek. The doorbell rang ten minutes ago and for the past nine he heard Holly in the kitchen with his mother and Cora, helping them carve Cora's pumpkin.

Derek stared at his reflection. Laura helped him with the black liner that rimmed his eyes. According to her he couldn't officially be a punk biker if he didn't wear eyeliner. She put it on fairly thick, but staring at the results he was glad she hadn't listened when he objected. His hair was just long enough to create black spikes with hair gel holding it in place, but it would only last if he remembered not to touch it.

The spiked choker and studded fingerless gloves had been from his dad. His father hadn't told him why he had a spiked choker or studded fingerless gloves and Derek didn't want to know. Sometimes too much information was too much information. The jeans with the left knee ripped belonged to him, though he generally only wore them on full moon nights, or when he cut the grass. They were the kind of jeans he didn't care if they got destroyed during a change or scuffling around in the dirt. Everything else about the costume, Uncle Peter helped him pick out from vintage clothing stores on their San Francisco trip last weekend.

The black tee-shirt with the white skull and crossbones on the front. The half denim, half leather jacket with metal studs on the shoulders and down the sleeves. And the black scuffed steel-toed boots, all purchased in the Haight-Ashbury district. He embodied the stereotypical image of a punk biker. The Harley the only thing absent from the picture.

"Come in," he called when his uncle knocked a second time.

"Your date's here," uncle Peter teased.

Derek rolled his eyes. "She's not my date."

"Aren't you and Laura double dating?"

"Laura's going on a date," he pointed out. "Holly and I are just hanging out."

Peter watched him for several moments standing in the door way with his shoulder resting against the frame. A pose his mother referred to it as 'propping up the wall'.

"What?" Derek pushed after the seconds ticked past and his uncle just stood there staring at him.

Peter glanced behind him down the hall, and then closed the door as he fully entered the room.

"You know you're in high school now," Peter pulled out the chair in front of his desk and took a seat facing Derek. "Your mom and dad said it's okay for you to actually call her your girlfriend now."

"Holly's not my girlfriend," he corrected.

"Okay," he replied casually. "You know, before your dad started dating your mom they were a lot like you and Holly. Friends all through grade school, but once they hit ninth grade—"

"—Ohmigod, Uncle Peter she's not my girlfriend," he insisted.

Peter held his hands up in surrender and stood. It's as far as he got before Derek stopped him.

"Uncle Peter?"

"Yes, Nephew Derek?"

Derek smirked slightly. "What's it mean when a guy says he wants to hit a home run with a girl?"

"What?" the look on Peter face reminded Derek of the time he asked his uncle if was going to marry Ms Lindly when he caught them having in the garage. "Where did you hear that?"

"In the locker room at school."

"Do me a favor," he moved closer to Derek, placing a hand on his nephew's shoulder and bending a bit so they were eye level. "Don't repeat that to your mother unless you want to attend a missionary school in Argentina."

"Why?" he asked again. "What's it mean?"

"Guys sometimes use baseball terminology as stages of experience."

Derek gave his uncle as blank a look as he could. "Experience in what?"

"Dating, or how far they've gotten with a girl."

"I don't get it," Derek replied with a shake of his head.

Peter let go of a dramatic sigh, "I told you father he needed to get you into sports at an early age. Sex, Derek," Peter finally stated bluntly. "Hitting a home run means you had sex with a girl."

Sex. Derek started to say something but stopped. For a moment all he saw was red. He should have guessed Ryan Donahue's plan, but he didn't figure he'd be so bold as to announce it in a locker room while he was within ear shot. He'd kill him. No, he'd castrate him. No he'd castrate him, and then kill him.

"So, if sex is a home run, what's first base? Holding hands?"

"No," Peter scoffed. "Holding hands is barely considered going up to bat. First base is kissing, making out."

"Then what's second and third base?"

The relief that flooded over Peter's face at the sound of the doorbell quickly followed a repeat performance at the knock on Derek's door. Laura poked her head in grinning from ear to ear.

"Hey Uncle Peter. Hurry up, brat. I don't want to keep David waiting."

She gave Derek a playful wink and ducked back out, leaving the door open. And leaving Derek to look to Peter expectantly.

"Don't look at me. You don't need to worry about second and third base until prom. Maybe college," he added after a moment of thought.

"Don't you think I'm a little too old for the too young excuse?" Derek asked walking past his uncle and exiting the room.

"I do, which is why I didn't say it."

Derek ducked his head, barely escaping with his hair unmolested. He took the back stairs down landing him in the kitchen with his mom, Cora, and Holly.

"I want a scary pumpkin," Cora was explaining as she used the sharpie to draw the pumpkin's face on.

His mom already hollowed out the pumpkin, the seeds and inside collected in separate containers on the counter. She'd make a pie tomorrow or Sunday and freeze it until Thanksgiving. The seeds would be dried out, some planted for next year, the rest sprinkled with salt, roasted in the oven, and turned into a snack.

Holly sat on the floor legs bent at the knees next to Cora. She was dressed in black ballerina slippers with red ribbons laced up her calves over black fishnets with huge gouges missing here and there as if they'd been snagged on something and ripped free. Her tutu wasn't the normal pink of a ballerina, but black and red checkers and like him she wore fingerless gloves, but hers where ripped fishnets that climbed over her elbow. A skull and cross bone pendant threaded through a black ribbon tied around her neck, matched earrings that dangled from chains of various lengths from her ears. She'd even pulled her hair into a ball on the top of her head and wrapped it with red and black lace.

It was a tradition for Derek and Holly. They'd agree on the Halloween costume theme but the actual costumes were kept secret until the day. Technically he cheated, since the theme had been taking something normal and punking it out, but none of his other ideas worked beyond conception.

"I always liked scary pumpkins too," she agreed with Cora. "A friendly pumpkin on Halloween sorta defeats the purpose of the holiday."

Cora rewarded her with a bright smile.

"Hi Derek," his little sister waved at him then frowned and squinted. "Are you wearing make up?"

Holly looked over to Derek and grinned, hopping to her feet and doing a quick turn. "What do you think? I went punk ballerina."

"I like it, it's cool. The fishnets are a nice touch. What about me?" Derek spread his arms and smoothed his hands down the front of his jacket.

"Punk biker?" she questioned bouncing on her toes. When he nodded her face brightened with a grin, followed quickly by a look like she just realized Johnny Depp was in the living room. "Are those steel-toed boots?"

"Yeah," Derek looked down at the shoes on his feet. "Uncle Peter got them for me in San Francisco last weekend."

"Awesome."

"All right kids," Derek hadn't seen his mom leave the kitchen but she returned with the camera, "Picture time."

They stood next to each other, Derek putting his arm around her shoulder for the duration of the picture. His mother managed to snap it before Laura called out from the porch.

"Hurry up, brats."

"You two have fun tonight."

"Bye Mrs. Hale. Bye Cora."

"Bye Cora," he bent down and pressed a kiss to the top of his sister's head. "Bye mom," standing he kissed her cheek as he walked past.

"Bye sweetheart."

Discreetly, his mother pressed a twenty dollar bill into his palm as he moved past her. Safety money she called it, even though he had the money he earned from his chores. Derek and Holly got to the porch in time to hear his father delivering the tail end of his speech to David. Derek knew the speech by heart, how Holly's safety fell to his responsibility until he returned her home. A speech his uncle always balked at.

He always found it interesting how vastly different his father and Uncle Peter were.

"Okay bye dad," Laura grabbed David's hand tugging him from the porch his car.

Derek and Holly headed to the gold Camry. The only car Derek didn't recognize and the only one not parked among the others. They rode to the party in silence mostly. Holly seemed preoccupied and kept her attention out the window most of the ride. David occasionally glanced in the back at him and Holly like he couldn't believe they were actually back there. Laura chatted occasionally, but mostly she flipped through the radio channels, stopping long enough to listen to a song she liked before moving onto the next station.

It didn't take long to reach their destination, a house on the outskirts of the city, abandoned and believe to be haunted. A handful of seniors and juniors on the Beacon Hills basketball team decided to take it over for a night, throw a party and see how long they could last in the so-called haunted mansion.

Derek didn't like David. He didn't like David's friends, and he was fairly certain the feeling was mutual. His suspicions confirmed as he and Holly followed his sister and her boyfriend to the door.

"Why did they have to come?" David asked glancing back over his shoulder.

"Because you invited me," Laura replied.

"Yeah, you. Not your brother."

"Look, you wanted me to come. I told you the only way my dad would let me come was if Derek came too."

"Yeah, but I didn't think you were serious about that. They're not going to know anyone here," he continued to protest and pushed the door open.

"They'll be fine."

Derek narrowed his gaze when David glanced over his in their direction yet again. He didn't like him, he didn't smell right. He'd heard his father say that exact phrase many times in the past, but never understood what he meant until that moment. He didn't like the way David focused his gaze on Holly, or how he smiled at her even as he walked next to his sister. Derek reached out for Holly's hand, intertwining their fingers as they followed David and Laura inside. If she objected to having her hand held she didn't vocalize it. In fact she even offered a partial smile, the right corners of her lip twisting upwards.

The house looked as run down inside as Derek expected to find from the outside. A few holes in the floor would have allowed them to see into the basement if it hadn't been so dark. Someone supplied a generator used to power a CD player. And various candles chased away some of the darkness, though the scattered flame created living shadows. In addition to the music and candles someone provided a picnic table where chips were arranged and a cooler sat on the floor filled with ice and beer.

There were handfuls of people scattered in the living room talking and drinking, but most of them seemed to be in various stages of making out.

"Come on," David draped an arm around Laura's shoulder. "Let's check out what's upstairs."

"You want some company?"

Derek directed the question towards his sister, but David took the liberty of replying, "No, we don't. Find your own room."

"If I cared what you wanted, I would have asked you. But I didn't ask you. I asked my sister."

"I'm fine, Derek," Laura stepped forward and placed a kiss on his cheek. "Trust me I can take care of myself."

Derek gave David a final disapproving look but offered a nod to Laura, "Okay."

"You don't like him, huh?" Holly offered as the two watched the other couple round the second floor landing.

"Not even a little. Ever since dad let her start dating last year she's gone out with one loser after another."

"David isn't really a loser."

Derek frowned as he gave Holly a pointed look.

"He's not. He's a jerk but trust me there are way worse people she could be going out with than David."

"I guess," Derek offered with a slight shrug.

"What do you want to do?"

David had been right. So far everyone he saw was a junior or senior. Not that it mattered. Laura had been right too. There weren't that many people at school outside Holly, his sister and some of the swim team he talked to anyway. At the private haunted house party, or at a school function he would have ultimately ended up focusing his attention on Holly and Laura and whatever dweeb Laura was dating at the moment.

"Are you hungry?"

"No. Yolanda fixed her amazing meatloaf for dinner. I think she assumed because mom and dad were both home we'd have dinner like a family."

"Want to go out back?"

Holly grinned brightly and gave a nod of her head. "Okay."

Derek led them back out the front door and around to the back of the house from the outside. Theoretically, the hallway in front of them probably would have led them to the back door, or from the addition to the rear of the house, the pantry and then the back door. But he heard a couple in the kitchen making out, and he wasn't entirely sure they would have been able to get the door open. Or if the floor would support them. The house should have been torn down, but it seemed Beacon Hills was reluctant to tear down one of the first houses put up in the town.

Derek and Holly hopped over the fence and wandered around the backyard. The ground well lit from the light of the gibbous moon. Tomorrow it would be full and Derek couldn't wait. He always enjoyed the nights of the full moon as a kid, but since he changed he loved them. He compared the feelings he had while running through the forest with his family to watching color television after a life time of black and white.

Holly spun around like the ballerina she pretended to be, and then performed some other move Derek was sure had a proper name before she climbed half way up the steps and sat down.

"I bet this place was pretty once."

"What happened to the family that lived here?"

"I don't know," she gave a vague shrug. "Yolanda says that every town has its tragic legacy and that what happened in this house is Beacon Hills'."

"Yeah, but does anyone know what happened?"

"Does anyone ever really know what happens inside someone else's house?"

Derek considered that for a moment and found himself frowning slightly. Two years ago he would say yes. But that was before he realized the secrets the Hales kept.

"Well what do people say happened?"

"From what Yolanda says, the Martacks where extremely religious. Like Carrie White's mom from _Carrie_ religious. And one day, Mr. Martack was convinced the devil had taken over his family and thought the only way to save their souls was to kill them."

"How many of them where there?"

"His wife, two kids and the dog."

"He killed the dog?" Holly nodded despite Derek's frown. "What happened to Mr. Martack?"

"That's why everyone thinks the house is haunted," Holly grinned. "No one knows."

"Then how do they know he killed them because he thought they were possessed?"

"Yolanda said the cops came over because one of the neighbors say Mr. Martack walking from the house to the shed covered in blood. When the police arrived, he confessed to killing them, they arrested him and took him to jail. But when the transport came to take him to San Francisco he was gone."

"What do you mean gone?"

"Just that," she shrugged again. "He was just gone. The cell door was locked, the bars weren't broken or filed he was just gone, like…" she raised her hand and blew against her fingers, opening them as if she were letting something fly away.

"Did you make that up?" Derek asked regarding her with a heavy amount of skepticism.

"Cross my heart," she dragged her right index finger over her heart and held her hand up. "You can ask Yolanda next time you come over."

"So he could be out here right now? Mr. Martack?"

"Yeah but, it's not like he can still really be a threat. I mean this happened back in the seventies or something and he was already, like… old."

"Well," Derek glanced over his shoulder at the shed that looked like any breeze would threaten to topple it over. "If he shows up, I'll protect you."

Holly just grinned at him. "I know."

Derek nodded his agreement. He closed the distance but held off sitting down next to her, opting instead to look up at her from the foot of the steps. Uncle Peter's comment turned round and round in his head. He never really thought about how pretty Holly was until Julie McAdams' party last year when he kissed her. And he never really thought about that kiss afterwards. He tried to bring it up a few times but Holly always changed the subject so eventually he stopped. He'd all but forgotten about it until he heard Simon Crandall bragging in the locker room he could hit a home run with Holly. He'd even gone so far as to turn it into a bet. At the time he hadn't know what a home run was, but he knew it couldn't be good.

His first impulse had been to make Simon one with his locker, but he'd already been suspended twice for fighting. Once more and his father vowed to skin him alive, while his coach promised to kick him off the swim team. When he spotted Simon chatting Holly up at her locker after school the first impulse returned with a vengeance.

Derek told himself he was just being protective of his friend. What he didn't understand was if it was just him being protective, why was he all of a sudden thinking about the first time he kissed her. And why had Uncle Peter calling her his girlfriend gotten under his skin so much? Uncle Peter always teased him about Holly being his girlfriend, it never meant anything until tonight.

"What's wrong?"

Derek shrugged and climbed the steps and sat next to Holly. As discreetly as possible he leaned towards her a bit and inhaled. She smelled like lilacs and his mom's cinnamon sticks when she pulled them right out of the oven.

"Thanks for coming tonight."

"You're welcome."

"I know it's tradition for us to sit up eating candy and watching _Wolfen_ but for whatever reason Laura really likes this dweeb."

"I don't mind giving the wolves a break this Halloween. Not that I don't enjoy watching it with you," she added grinning. "But this is nice too. Besides we can watch it when we get back to your house. My mom said I can sleep over."

"Can I ask you for another favor?"

Holly smirked and tapped her right foot against the steps. "You keep asking for favors and I'm gonna start keeping count."

"This is serious. I mean, sorta, I don't know. It's not really for me, it's for you too but…"

She laughed at that. "Why don't you just ask whatever it is you wanna ask?"

"You know Simon Crandall?"

"You know I know him, you saw me talking to him at school today."

"Right," Derek nodded. So much for him thinking he'd been stealthily watching them from afar. "See, the thing is, he's gonna ask you out. On a date. And I was kinda hoping you would turn him down."

"Well, he already asked me out."

Derek frowned. "What did you say?"

"He asked me if I wanted to go to a Halloween party tonight, and I told him I was hanging out with you."

Derek perked up at that. "What did he say?"

"He asked me to go to the movies with him tomorrow?"

The frown returned.

"I told him I already had a boyfriend."

He shifted and looked at Holly closely. The freckles on her cheek were darker under the moonlight.

"Why did you tell him that?"

"I don't know," she gave a slight shrug. "I guess I didn't want to hurt his feelings and I couldn't think of anything else to say. But why do you care who I go out with?"

Derek started to speak but looked away. Telling her seemed like a good idea at the time, but with the cat now peeking over the edge of the bag, he wasn't sure how to break the news to her, without hurting her feelings.

He was staring at the ground with a frown etched into his brow, trying to figure out how to tell her when she kissed his cheek softly.

"That was for being a good friend. I know about the bet."

The confession surprised him as much, maybe more than the kiss. "How did you find out."

"Melissa Driver's brother was in the locker room this afternoon. He told her and she told me. I'm not an idiot. I figured something was up when he started talking to me out of the blue this afternoon."

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay. At least I have friends like you."

"If it's any consolation I wanted to punch him. I almost did punch him. I may still punch him."

"And get kicked off the team?" she shook her head. "He's not worth it. And I'm seriously not in danger of losing my virginity to that jerk."

"Do you want to be my girlfriend?" he blurted out.

As soon as the words escaped part of Derek wished he could cram them back into his mouth and down his throat, while the other part was glad he got them out. Maybe Uncle Peter was right. His parents were friends and then started dating and as far as he could tell things worked out all right for them. More than all right, they had three kids and were still snuggling and making out to the point of embarrassment.

Besides, it seemed like everyone, at least everyone in his family, expected they either already were dating or eventually would. Why, he still hadn't figured out, but it seemed for the past couple of years whenever Holly came over, or whenever he announced he was heading to her house, all the adults shared some secret knowledge passed through looks only they could interpret.

"Do you want me to be your girlfriend?"

He considered it and answered with an all convincing shrug. "Maybe? I mean everyone already thinks we're dating anyway. Everyone at school at least… and my family."

"They do?"

"Yeah," he nodded. "Uncle Peter called you my girlfriend tonight."

"Did you tell him I wasn't?"

"Yeah but he didn't seem to believe me."

Holly frowned and supported her chin in the palm of her hand. Her turn to stare at the ground in thought.

"Do you want to be my boyfriend?"

"I think so."

She fell into silence again, the frown signaling that hadn't exactly been the answer she wanted, or maybe just not the one she expected.

"Do you want to be my boyfriend because your uncle thinks you're my boyfriend? Or do you want to be my boyfriend because you want to be my boyfriend?"

"The second," he stated this time with more confidence.

"Why?"

"Well…" Derek sat up and rubbed his palms against the legs of his jeans. "We're always together anyway, right?"

"Yeah."

"And I already love you, and I already protect you. That's stuff a boyfriend is supposed to do, right?"

"Yeah, but you do that because you're my best friend. You don't think it'll," she paused, pursing her lips a bit. "Make things weird between us?"

"I don't know," Derek answered after several moments in thought. "If it doesn't work, we can just go back to being friends."

"I guess," she stated.

Though uncertainty flared in her tone, the hints of a smile peeked from the corners of her lips. Derek spotted it, even as she pressed both hands to her face to hide it. It didn't take long for her infectious smile to spread to him.

"So, what do we do now?"

"Well, the same thing we normally do, only now we hold hands and kiss sometimes."

"When?"

"I could kiss you now."

"Right now?"

Derek turned his head to regard Holly with a smile. He could have given voice to any number of the sarcastic replies spinning in his head. Normally he would have, but they were dating now.

"I'd like to kiss you now. If that's okay."

Holly didn't answer, at least not verbally. Instead she just met his eyes with large brown ones and nodded. Derek shifted, sliding closer to her. He smelled her again as he leaned in close. The scent of lilac and cinnamon. He pressed his lips against hers, much as he'd done just over a year ago. This time he didn't count the seconds on his fingers. He didn't try to make it anything more than the press of lips. He didn't want it to be more than the press of lips.

She was grinning when he pulled away. Derek barely heard the increased beat of her heart over his own. She turned away, again hiding that smile that blossomed across her face. Her smile second in brightness only to his as he placed his arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer. His gave fixed on the beautiful moon.


	12. Chapter 12

DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING. Well that's not a true statement, I do own some things, like my laptop, but I don't own Teen Wolf so there is that. I'm just having fun with the characters.

To my reviewers:

**RHatch89:** Glad you liked it!

**howling4hale:** Thank you, I enjoyed writing it. It's nice to take a break once in a while from the present day story since it's really become deeper as the chapters go along.

**OhhKellyRose:** I hadn't figured out the eye color yet. I couldn't understand why Derek and Peter were born wolves and had blue eyes and Cora had yellow, so I'm glad that was cleared up. I agree, I see Derek differently now too. A lot of his choices in the past, really make a lot more sense now. I love how his character just became that much more complicated. But... real-time chapter. Yay! enjoy!

**Phoebe Nixon:** Muahahahaha! The answers are to come in future installments. Surprisingly (at least for me) I've already figured out that part in my head. I say surprisingly because while I have a general outline for how the story will go, it sometimes veers into another path to get there.

**Stefani Demi:** Wow... you know how to make a girl feel special. Really reading your review made me smile and feel incredibly humble. I'm glad you're enjoying the story and I hope you continue to enjoy reading the chapters I put out. Nothing is worse than a story that hooks you and then goes horribly off the rails at some point, so please, please, please let me know if I start taking you in that direction.

**Mrs. Alexandra-Hale:** I know right! How ironic would it be if Cora and Stiles got together? I don't think it would happen but I would laugh. I'm trying to work Stiles into the story, it was hard at the beginning, no scratch that impossible since he and Derek aren't together much, but as the story progresses it's becoming more possibly/easier to pull in the non-wolf canon characters. Deaton was first, now I just gotta pull in Stiles! Halloween is my favorite holiday too, and I'm glad the theme customs didn't come off as cheesy.

**A/N:** New chapter yay! Thank you for the follows and favorites! Thank you for the delicious reviews, really they mean a lot to me. I love knowing what you guys think. As I said above for Stefani if at some point you're reading the story and find things you really don't like, or don't understand or anything that tampers with your enjoyment please let me know! And of course if you love the story let me know that. I like praise. It's like cotton candy!

**POTENTIAL SPOILER ALERT FOR EPISODE 5**

**TAKES PLACE DURING EP. 5**

Chapter 12 – Black Milk

Never in his life did he experience such excruciating pain.

It felt like every cell in his body had been torn apart. Every involuntary pull of breath brought unbearable agony. Agony that paled in comparison to the blinding pain that ripped through him when he reintroduced movement to his body. Derek's teeth clamped down on his bottom lip and kept him from vocalizing the pain. It also worked to temporarily immobilize him again.

He would have done anything to keep that feeling at bay, but Derek knew he had to move. Somewhere below him, Ennis remained. Alive from the sound of his heartbeat, but just as severely injured, if not more, judging from the sporadic rhythm.

Lying upside down on the teeth of the elevator stairs, Derek knew his first step needed to be getting himself upright. Gritting his teeth against the onslaught, Derek began the slow process of twisting his body around. With his vision fluctuating between blurred and tunnel, it felt like hours before he finally maneuvered into a position that allowed him to grip the hand railing of the escalator and pull himself to his feet.

Elevation didn't agree with him and nearly blacking out caused Derek to stumble down several of the broken metal stairs until he ended up next to Ennis' broken body. He landed not on the steps as Derek had, but on the hard metal space that separated the up from the down side. Not that Derek considered the jagged metal steps an improved landing space.

After a few stumbling steps away from the escalators, Derek paused and used a pillar to keep his body upright as he fought off a wave of dizziness. He could feel his body trying to mend, but it didn't feel like it was doing a very good job. A few more steps and the black blood he threw up confirmed his body was succeeding, but extremely slowly.

Derek knew he needed to get some place safe as fast as he could get there. His pack surely presumed him dead and though the might come back to claim the body, Ennis' pack would be back as well. If they found Derek in the condition he was currently in, the presumed death might become reality.

He took several steps closer to the exit before he had to pause and allow the pain to subside back to tolerable levels. Every step felt as if he were being ripped into all over again. One thing Derek knew for certain, he would never make it to the loft. It was too far away from the abandoned mall. And if by some miracle he was able to drag his battered body that far, he would never be able to do it unseen. Someone would spot him. Someone would call an ambulance. Someone would make a bad situation worse.

Stumbling outside, Derek made it from the parking lot to the wooded area behind the mall before he collapsed to the ground. Panting, he rolled onto his back and stared up at the leaves on the trees coming in and out of focus. He had to stop and rest, if only for a moment, but at least outside, his option, the only option became much clearer.

He knew these woods and he knew where they led. One direction would take him to the burned out remains of his family home. If he went there, he might as well drag his body back into the mall. In another direction, Beacon Hills High School… Holly.

From the moment he opened his eyes he saw her face, even when he saw double, blurred or barely at all. The thought of Holly pushed him to his feet when all he wanted to do was lie there and die. He couldn't die. He couldn't leave Holly, not like that. The irony of the situation didn't escape him as he laid on the dry fall leaves.

Nearly a week passed since the morning he left Holly's hotel room. He promised he would keep her safe, he promised he would stay away and he had. For all visual purposes Derek surgically removed Holly from his life… but not his thoughts or his dreams.

At night when he closed his eyes, Holly waited to greet him. All of the planning, taking out Deucalion, it hadn't just been for his Betas, it had been for her, for them. With Deucalion out of the picture he and Holly would be together, she would be safe. It would be like when they were teenagers, but different, better. They were adults. Maybe, he even had a chance at a normal life. Maybe Cora would have a chance at a normal life.

Derek rolled over, dug his fingers into the ground, pushed himself onto his knees, and hesitated. Even now he tried to find an alternative. He didn't want to involve Holly but couldn't see any other options. He couldn't be alone, not now. Not when he was so damned vulnerable.

Pushing himself to his feet, Derek used the trees to keep him upright. If he kept at a slow and steady pace, he might make it to the high school before she left for the day.

* * *

She should have come sooner. She knew she should have come sooner. She also knew she shouldn't have been the only one there. Cora's fingers curled into tight fists. The others should have been there, with her, collecting the body of her brother, their Alpha, not on some bus to a track meet that meant absolutely nothing.

Cora was furious. Furious at them for not being there with her. Furious at herself, she should have been there sooner. She shouldn't have left him last night. If she hadn't left… Cora bent down and touched the wall of the escalator. Derek's blood. Her brother's blood. But her brother's body was nowhere to be found.

Neither was Ennis.

Cora looked and stood up, slightly started at the sound above her and not necessarily relieved when it turned out to be Peter.

"It's just me, your uncle. Uncle Peter."

"Uncle Peter, who killed Sister Laura."

"Hm," he glanced to one side then the other speaking as Cora climbed the escalator steps towards him. "Not my finest hour no, but I'm hardly the only dysfunctional family member. Did Derek mention that he killed me too?" If Cora didn't know any better she would say he sounded almost amused. "Sliced my throat ear to ear."

Cora glaring at her uncle, "So that means I should trust you?"

"Actually I'm wondering if I can trust you."

"You've known me for seventeen years." She nearly scoffed.

"I _knew_ you for eleven, leaving the last six unaccounted for. And I'm not particularly fond of things unaccounted."

"What are you doing here?"

"Same as you. Wondering where the bodies went. Wondering if they were carried out, or maybe if one of them managed to find enough strength to push himself up off the floor and walk out. Leaving the two of us standing here, to answer the all-important question—"

"—which one?" she concluded and was struck momentarily with an overwhelming need to cry.

It was Derek, it had to be. If anyone managed to find the strength to walk out, it would be her brother. Ennis only had his pack, but Derek had more to live for. He had her, he had his pack to protect, and he had Holly.

"Derek," she answered with more confidence than she felt. From the look on Peter's face he had his doubts, perhaps more than doubts. "Why would they take his body?"

At that, Peter gave her a pointed look. "While a fall from that height would certainly kill a human, it may not necessarily kill a werewolf."

Cora stared back down to Derek's blood on the side of the escalator and refused to entertain Peter's potential version of events. Six years, six years she thought all of her family dead. A week ago she found Derek alive. And now, again… she might have lost him.

She should have stayed with him. She should have took him out last night, "You should have been here last night."

"To do what? Be another pawn for Deucalion and his band of merry murderous Alphas to get Derek to dance to their tune?"

"We could have used the help," she snapped.

"What you really could use is a one way plane ticket to Bora Bora."

"I'm not leaving, especially not now."

And Cora knew Peter wouldn't either. What she didn't know was why. He already proved he had no loyalty to Derek, at least not in the sense of standing by his side in the face of danger. Had he really come to the mall to help Derek? If Derek had been found, alive and first by Peter… would he be dead now? Would Peter have killed him to become an Alpha again?

Turning her gaze back to the blood splatter, Cora didn't know the answer. Peter wasn't on Derek's side and he wasn't on her side. He was on Peter's side. Still, she looked back to her uncle. She needed him to help her find her brother.

"If Derek managed to survive that fall," Cora began. "And if he left on his own power, he'll need help. He couldn't have gotten far."

"There is someplace he might have gone," Peter suggested.

"Near here?" she questioned.

"It's… not far," the words seemed to only be spoken after careful consideration on her uncle's part. "And, assuming he did leave under his own power, he would be safe there."

"Where?"

"Someone who used to help our family."

Cora frowned a bit but she didn't press. Instead she pulled her cell phone out as she followed Peter to Derek's Camaro.

"Who are you calling?"

"Holly."

"What? Why?" it took Cora a second to realize he snatched the phone out of her hand.

"Give me back the phone."

"Not until you think things through."

"I'm thinking if you don't give me back my phone right now, I'm going to put your physical impairment to the test."

He might have been bigger than her and smarter than her, but Cora didn't believe stronger fell into the same category.

"You call Holly and tell her what? Derek might be dead, he might be alive, but we really don't know because we don't have a body? "

"Yes," Cora growled. "I told her if anything happened to Derek I would call."

"And after she flies into hysterics what then?"

Cora paused and swore internally. As much as she didn't want to admit Peter was right… Peter was right. Holly wouldn't be able to do much more to help find Derek than she and Peter were doing. And what good would it do to tell her Derek might be dead, he might be alive and safe somewhere or he might be Deucalion's POW? Telling Holly wouldn't just cause her to worry, it would cause her to feel completely helpless in the process. It would cause her to feel the exact same thing Cora felt right now. And it might cause her to do something incredibly stupid.

Peter positioned the phone close enough for Cora to snatch it from his fingers. Instead of completing the call she slipped the device back into her pocket. She could always call her later, once they found Derek, found is location, or found his body.

* * *

Derek panted soft and steady. The shallow breaths hurt less since his diaphragm didn't push as much against the slashes across his abdomen. But it made movement more difficult, caused him to slow his progress even more. Unfortunately, breathing turned out to not be his only problem. His vision, already sketchy grew worse as the sun rose and turned brighter. Blurry, double, tunnel, spotty, and on occasions nearly blind all vied for top spot in his visionary cortex. Fortunately, Derek had more to rely on than vision.

Instinct kicked in miles ago. He relied less on vision and more on smell, taste. He could taste her scent on the soft palate of his mouth. Lilacs and cinnamon, faint at first but the closer he got to the school the stronger the taste became. Derek stumbled, fell, and cried out as he hit the ground. The collision angered every wound and muscle in his body.

He lay on the dirt and leaves and listened. Nothing answered back. At least no Alphas tracking his progress, or closing in on his position. What he did hear got him moving again in the direction of running water. The brook was a welcomed sight, though getting down to the water's edge proved more difficult and painful than he originally anticipated.

With the vocalization of pain held back, Derek eventually positioned his body, stretched partially on his side, partially on his chest. The cool rapid flowing water felt soothing against his lips and felt even better going down his throat.

He pushed away from water enough so he could rest on his back without getting swept down stream. He was close to the high school, which meant he was close to Holly. He could take a moment to rest, he just needed a moment.

* * *

"An animal clinic?" Cora stared at the building curiously.

Peter nearly smiled at her surprise, though he supposed he couldn't blame her. The irony was rather amusing. The first time he found Scott inside and hiding from him, he hadn't quite seen the amusement. That seemed, at the moment, a lifetime ago. It was, however, ironic he found himself here, again, looking for another werewolf.

"It's not as ordinary as it looks," he explained plainly. "The building's half made out of mountain ash. I'm not actually sure how to get inside," he spoke softly as he looked over the building trying to figure that very thing out.

"Well, maybe we can do what normal people do and knock on the door."

Cora barely took half a step forward when Peter grabbed hold of her arm. The confused look on her face quickly shifted to apprehensiveness.

"They're here."

"Who?"

He paused, scented the air and frowned. "All of them."

"But how do we know who's in there? Is it Derek or Ennis or… both?"

Peter grabbed her arm again, this time ducking her down with him behind a truck as Kali and Aiden abruptly left the building. Distraught didn't begin to describe the way Kali looked, the way she moved. Peter imagined the howling scream she released setting off several car alarms around them confirmed his suspicions.

"I know one thing." Derek wasn't inside, but Ennis was. And Ennis hadn't made it. "That wasn't for Derek."

He grabbed hold of his niece's hand and led her away. Both of them still crouching low to the ground. The question of who was inside had just been answered. The question of Derek's whereabouts remained unknown. And it was beginning to piss Peter off. He thought he'd spent enough time with his nephew to know his scent and be able to locate it, but if today proved one thing, it proved he couldn't track him. Or perhaps that ability along with others had been impaired during his resurrection.

Peter led them back to the black Camaro they left three blocks away. Better safe than detected, is what he told Cora when they parked.

"I find it hard to believe, that in a week's time you haven't committed Derek's scent to memory yet."

"This might have escaped your attention but things have exactly been as easy as Sunday morning around here lately."

"Nothing escapes my attention," Peter answered and pulled in a deep breath.

He could smell Derek; he just had no idea where he was. His scent had been strong at the animal clinic, but not strong enough to follow. It had been strong at his loft, but lead in too many directions. If he would have been proud at the way his nephew made it so damn difficult to track him via his scent, if he hadn't been the one trying to track him.

"What now?" Cora questioned.

"We could go to the house."

She scoffed at that. "You really think my brother will be stupid enough to go there in whatever condition he's in? He's not going somewhere exposed when he can't protect himself."

"That's why we're not going to his house," Peter stated after a bit of a sigh. "We're going to her house."

"Derek told her not to stay at her place."

"Derek also told her he would protect her. But then, I haven't seen her around lately."

"That's his way of protecting her." She managed to sound only slightly annoyed.

"And that's exactly why she wouldn't listen to him," he stated with confidence and started the car, "Woman scorned and such."

"Holly doesn't strike me as being that…"

"Foolish?"

"Suicidal."

"Either way, if Derek's not at the clinic and he's not at the loft, the next logical place is Holly's home. Unless, of course, you have a better idea."

Cora slowly turned her head to glare at Peter. He knew the question in her eyes, was he looking for Derek to save him…

…or become an Alpha again.

* * *

Holly coughed and spat into the toilet, her hands on either side of the bathroom stall to brace herself. With her eyes closed, Holly reached for the handle to flush the toilet. The sight of the thick, black mucus-like bile she threw up moments ago nearly triggered the regurgitation process all over again. She woke that morning to a body full of aches and pains. Typically, the feeling let her know her body was in the midst of battleing a cold, but the muscle aches went well beyond her normal tell. It felt like she'd gone ten rounds with Tyson and followed that up with auditions for the mixed martial arts circuit.

She should have stayed at home, or the hotel she called home for the past week. Though she couldn't call it home, not really. Her mother once told her, home was where the heart was. If that was truly the case, Derek's loft was her home, since Derek was her heart. And Derek was why she found herself in a bathroom stall at the school throwing up instead of the hotel room.

The weekend taught Holly, unless she had something to preoccupy her mind, her mind was determined to dwell on Derek. How was he? Where was he? Was he still alive? Cora promised she would call if anything happened, but what if Cora wasn't alive? The sight of Isaac, Boyd, and Scott on a daily basis proved to be the only thing that kept Holly from completely breakdown and heading to the loft. Warning to stay away be damned.

As long as they showed up for school, Derek was all right. And she'd seen the three boys boarding the bus an hour ago with the rest of the track team.

Of course if she knew she would be throwing up multiple times a day, she might have stayed home. Though it wasn't so much _that_ she was throwing up, but _what_ she was throwing up. It looked like ink but had the consistency of congealed blood. The first time it happened a panic attack followed hot on the heels. The second and third time she managed to keep the attack at bay. As she stumbled from the stall and turned on the cold tap she just wanted to get somewhere and sleep for a week.

She barely made it to practice only to find out surprisingly being in the water had helped her feel better. Regrettably it didn't last. As soon as she got out and changed the wave of sickness passed over her again.

Holly bent over the sink, swished a handful of water around in her mouth and spat it back out. She met the eyes of her reflection, willing her breathing to slow from quick marathon pants. Not for the first time she wondered if she should call Dr. Deaton. Neither of them had been able to come up with a theory for her quick healing, which meant it was entirely possibly her current predicament resulted from the instant healing. Not a particularly fair trade off.

Rinsing her mouth out again, Holly dug in her purse for her phone and woke it long enough to confirm no new messages came in during practice. She stared at her screen saver for several minutes before she turned the phone off. If she could, she would have removed the battery. Maybe then the impulse to call Derek would diminish. She wanted to call him and tell what was going on, but she knew if he didn't have the answer, and most likely he didn't, that would be just one more problem on top of a mountain of others. Derek needed answers to the problems he already had, not more problems he had to find answers for, at least not right now.

Holly leaned against the wall with her eyes closed as the wave of dizziness passed. She should have been worried, but as awful as she felt, it wasn't the worse she'd ever felt. Worse than the flu, but miles better than when she contracted malaria in Tanzania.

"You look like you're ready to call it a day."

Holly opened her eyes to the friendly face of Anne Riesel, the sub the administration called in to back fill Adrian's classes in his absence. Like the rest of the faculty and staff, Holly found herself curious as to Adrian's location, but not so curious as to go looking for him. Not yet. According to Coach Finstock, a few years back Adrian had a bit of a drinking problem. Reportedly he'd gotten help before it became a school issue, but the rumor in the lounge was he'd fallen off the wagon.

"It's been a long day," she confirmed and pushed a smile to her lips.

She liked Miss Riesel, or Anne as the woman insisted she call her.

"Long nights?" she asked with a knowing smile.

"Long everything. Still getting situated."

"I know how that is," she smiled and turned to the mirror to re-apply her lipstick. "You know what?" she began, turning to lean against the sink. "Some of us are heading downtown to grab dinner and a few drinks tonight. Why don't you join us?"

"Thank you, Anne that's… any other night I would but… I've really been off all day."

"Are you sure?" she shifted so she faced Holly and reached out, taking her hand. "It'll do you good. This past week you've seemed so… lonely," she concluded after some thought.

"I'm not lonely I've just been adjusting."

"To your father passing away," she squeezed her hand and released it. "I know it's hard, but you can't cut yourself off from the world."

"I know."

"So come with us." Anne eagerly invited again. "Make new friends. Make memories. Have fun… maybe you'll meet someone," the last offered with a mischievous grin.

"Oh, yeah, well…"

"Unless you already _have_ someone. Is that why you've been so tired lately?"

"No," Holly laughed, nearly scoffed at that. "I wish that was the reason. No, just, settling into life in Beacon Hills."

"Well…" she paused again and regard Holly for several moments.

Holly felt the smile she masked onto her face slipping. Something in her gut turned over and grew unsettled. Like she just stepped into a completely pitch dark room of a haunted house and could hear breathing, but had no idea where or what it came from.

"…if you change your mind we'll be at Maca on Lincoln and Wells."

"Okay," Holly pushed the smile firmly into place until the door closed behind Anne and she slumped back against the wall.

She wanted to say yes. If she hadn't randomly been expelling black sludge, she would have. If nothing else the past week confirmed she needed desperately to increase her circle of friends in Beacon Hills from one. But something told her downing a pub burger and a corona wouldn't sit well in her stomach. Even with the lime wedge.

Securing her bag over her shoulder, Holly made her way out of the ladies room and eventually into the school parking lot. Perhaps the one good thing that came out of the week was the return of her Audi. It made her feel a bit materialistic, but Holly long ago proved to herself she could do without the finer or even basic things in life. So on occasions she splurged with a bit of self-love. And nothing said loving like the feel of Valcona leather seats and a wraparound dash.

Holly popped the trunk long enough to toss her bag in, before continuing to climb in the driver seat and screamed. A pain ripped through her gut so severely intense, it caused her to nearly double over as if she needed to protect herself from being hurt again. For a blinding second she couldn't see. When vision returned she screamed again. Startled as she become aware of three things in quick succession.

Someone was outside her car

Someone placed a blood coated hand on her window.

Someone was Derek.

Their eyes locked for a moment. Long enough for each to see recognition the other. It looked like he tried so say something but before any words passed his lips, Derek fell back.

Holly flung the door open, launching herself from the seat as he collapsed unconscious to the ground.

"Derek!"

She dropped to her knees next to him and pressed her ear against his chest.

"Derek. Derek, please wake up."

They were alone in the parking lot, at least for the time being. The lateness of the day and the away game for the track team had many of the students and faculty already gone, but there were still cars in the lot. It would only be a matter of time before someone came to claim the Civic parked behind her. She needed to get him from the ground and into her car.

Holly moved into position near Derek's head, hooked her hands under his arms, and felt like she dislocated her spleen. She expected him to be heavy, but the Alpha was much heavier than he looked.

"Derek, please wake up."

She moved backward, slowly dragging him to the rear door, and carefully laid him next to the car once she made it. A quick look around confirmed they were still alone in the parking lot. All she needed was for Anne to make her way out. With Holly's luck, the Civic behind her belonged to Anne.

"Derek?"

Opening the back door close to him, Holly propped Derek up, the opening. Quickly she moved around the car, climbing into the back seat from the other side. Once again she hooked her hands under his arms, but this time she pulled upwards. One foot planted on the floor, the other knee on the seat as she dragged Derek up and into the car.

Derek gasped. His eyes snapped open and focused on Holly for several seconds.

"Derek it's me. It's Holly," she whispered and stroked her fingers against his cheek. "You're safe baby, but I need you to help me. I need you to pull yourself in."

At first, he just stared at her with eyes that flashed a bright, glowing red, quickly faded back to olive green, and just as quickly closed. For a moment Holly thought he passed out again, but even as he lay there with his eyes closed he grabbed hold of the passenger seat and pulled himself into the car.

Derek didn't cry out, he growled. The sound completely animalistic and vibrated against her body even as she back peddled and ended up tumbling out of the car on her backside.

"Ow…fuck!"

It took her a moment, testing her bones to make sure nothing broke before she scrambled to her feet and used her body to press the door close. Cradling her elbow, Holly ran around to the other side of the car, shut the back door, and settled in behind the wheel.

"Hold on, Derek," she whispered. "Just hold on."


	13. Chapter 13

DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING. Well that's not a true statement, I do own some things, like my laptop, but I don't own Teen Wolf so there is that. I'm just having fun with the characters.

Thank you to those that have selected the story as a favorite and to those following! For those that have reviewed:

**RHatch89:** Thank you!

**Piper:** The more comfortable I get with the characters, the more comfortable I get in writing from their POV. It's fun to come up with what happened during downtime when the characters weren't on-screen. As for the flashbacks, I'm not sure I understand your question. I think you're asking will Holly appear in the chapter that I write to encompass episode 8. Is that right? If so the answer is, I plan on showing how the relationship of Derek and Holly (_or Dolly as they've been referred to_) changes as they get older. Since the show touched upon it (and since it's a pretty critical part of Derek's history) I plan on keeping his past with Paige as part of his history, just as I was doing for Kate.

**OhhKellyRose:** More Dolly action coming at ya! Also glad you're enjoying the other scene tie ins. They're fun to write.

**Mrs. Alexandra-Hale:** I like your incorporation of their names! I'm enjoying being in Cora's head. I think I've said this before but she's turning into one of my favorite characters. As for Peter, I totally agree. You wanna believe he's on Derek's side, but then you never know for sure with him. I love his character and want to spend more time in his POV but I'm holding off until I can get more of a feel as to where he's coming from. Is he a villain? Is he not? Though villains rarely see themselves as villains. They are usually able to justify why they're doing whatever in a way that makes sense to them. I had fun writing the part about Derek trying to make it to Holly, though I was worried I might have gone over the top so I'm glad you liked it. As for the answer about Holly being connected to Derek... you'll have to wait until chapter 15.

**Hannah:** Thank you so much! I'm glad you're lovin' it! Don't worry I'll keep updating.

**Laieanna:** Hey a kindred spirit! You pretty much covered all of the reasons I enjoy the show. It reminds me a lot of Buffy, in the fact that both shows while the main characters were teens but there are adults that contribute heavily beyond a "Did you do your homework?" kind of way. And I laughed when I read your post about Derek. I agree completely agree. It does seem like (especially this season) he's just doing a lot of waiting for the next disaster... in his loft... arms crossed... scowling. I've always felt like for him to have been born a werewolf he should be a bit more capable, but maybe that's just me. Doesn't take away from my enjoy the show and it does help with that brooding anger thing he's got going on. As for the writing I'm not published, but after I complete this story I'm going to work on an original piece with the hopes of publication, though from the research I've done it's pretty hard, but anything worth having is worth working for, right! Anyway, I've gotten way off the path and probably boring the readers so with that... thank you very much for the review. I loved it. (and picturing Derek in a tutu!)

**A/N:** And now on with the show. If you enjoy the story, if you have a question, or if you have any comments you want to share, drop me a review, I would love to hear and really enjoy hearing from you all! Also for those that saw episode 9, fear not... the darach in When History Repeats Itself will be different.

**POTENTIAL SPOILER ALERT FOR EPISODE 6**

**TAKES PLACE DURING EP. 6**

Chapter 13 – Locked Out of Heaven

If they fell back, they'd both die.

Holly kept that thought in her head as she struggled with Derek up three flights of stairs to her hotel room. She'd been tempted to take him to her house. It would have been much easier to drag him from the garage inside the house. Not to mention the risk of them being seen would have been reduced to zero. But the risk of being found increased past comfortable levels. If Derek didn't want her staying there alone because he couldn't protect her, staying there with him virtually defenseless didn't seem like a good option.

So she pulled her car around to the side and waited. Waited for the cover of darkness. Waited for him to regain consciousness. Waited for him to have enough strength to pull himself out of the car and up three flights of stairs. Inside the stairwell, she positioned him between the handrail closest to the wall and her body. His left arm draped over her shoulder, her right wrapped around his waist. She supported as much of his weight as she could manage without toppling over under it.

It took nearly a half hour to get from the first floor to the third floor landing, thankfully none of the guests at the hotel opted for stairs over the elevator. Just as thankfully the hotel hadn't installed cameras in the stairwell. Although by the time they made it to the third floor, Holly' was just thankful she hadn't collapsed under Derek's weight. The further they went the more he leaned into her. A couple of times she was fairly certain God's hand and shear willpower kept her for falling.

But she didn't have time to dwell on the new ache in her own body. Not when next to her Derek began bleeding again. Fresh blood seeped from the wound in his side. Assuming black blood could be considered fresh. He started panting again. Short, shallow breathes, and if Holly didn't know any better, she would swear he passed out a few times on the way up when they paused to give him a moment to recalibrate.

"Derek," she propped him up as best she could against the wall next to the door. "I need you to not fall down. I have to check to make sure the hallway is clear."

He nodded slightly with his eyes still closed. Holly noticed he wasn't just bleeding again, the exertion up the stairs had his brow coated with sweat. She touched his cheek softly, reassuringly.

Initially she opened the door a crack. Just enough to see into the hallway and confirm their luck continued to hold.

He grunted when she moved back under his arm, though she could tell he tried to keep the noise trapped inside.

"It's okay, Derek. You're safe."

Once they entered the hallway Holly knew the chances of them running into someone increased. Barely after eight, people would be making their way back to their rooms after days spent touring the few sights Beacon Hills had to offer. Or returning from the office to get more work done in their room. She hated to do it, but she forced Derek to move faster. Dragging him more than supporting him the few feet from the stairwell to her room.

Her prudence it turned out paid off as she heard the elevator ding its arrival just as the spring loaded door to her room closed behind them.

Derek must have sensed they were safe, or else he just didn't have any more strength left. Holly stumbled under the extra weight and sent both of them crashing against the door frame of the bedroom. She lost her hold on him just as they made it to the bed and his body collapsed partially on, partially off the king sized mattress, forcing her to catch him and roll him onto the blankets.

"Derek?" Holly called his name softly as she positioned him onto his back. "Derek please wake up. Please. I don't… I don't know what to do. Derek, what am I supposed to do? How do we fix you? Derek? Derek!"

Holly pressed her eat to his chest. His heartbeat was slow, shallow, and with irregular pulses. More like heart spasms instead of steady beats.

"Derek please wake up."

When he didn't respond to her voice she shook him. When he didn't respond to that Holly scrambled off the bed and searched for her phone. Frantically looking through her pockets until she remembered she'd left it in her bag in the trunk of her car.

She made it a quick trip. Down to her car and back in under a minute, latching and deadbolt locking the door upon her return. It probably wouldn't keep werewolves out, but it would make a hell of a lot of noise when they entered. She turned her bag upside down letting the contents, including her phone spill to the carpet. Quickly she grabbed it and the card, and with trembling hands dialed Deaton's number.

"Pick up. Pick up. Pick up," she chanted the words as the phone at the clinic cycled through a series of six rings only for the voice mail to pick up. Disconnecting the call, Holly tried the number a second and third time.

Her hands clenched into fists, one around the phone, the other crumpling the card.

"Think Holly… think…" she paced the width of the room and clamped her teeth down around her knuckle to keep from screaming in frustration.

She ducked into the bathroom long enough to retrieve a pair of scissors. Starting at the bottom she cut Derek's shirt open slicing in a line to the collar, followed by the sleeves. Bruising covered most of his torso and what part of his skin didn't hold discolored decorations was ripped open by claws.

With just the moon acting as the only light source the bedroom remained cast in sporadic shadows and light. It shown on Derek's face, caressing his skin in almost a deathly pale glow. Part of her thought she should turn the lamps on but she didn't want to see the extent of the damage. She didn't want to see if the claws on his stomach tore deep enough to eviscerate him.

Holly stood again and resumed wearing the carpet out under her relentless pacing. She could drive to the clinic, but there was no way she could get Derek back down the stairs. They barely made it up, and the results had been him bleeding again. Leaving him in the room alone wasn't option. Besides if Deaton wasn't answering the phone he probably wasn't there.

Cora's named popped into her head followed quickly by Peter but she didn't have either of their numbers. Hell she wasn't even sure either of them had cell phones. Returning to the bed she pressed her ear to Derek's chest. The spasms of his heart didn't sound any better, but at least they hadn't gotten any worse. Though Holly was fairly certain worse meant not beating at all. She felt his pockets. If he had his phone maybe Cora or Peter's numbers were listed in the contracts. But as she came to the last pocket and found it as empty as the others she slowly realized he either left his phone at the loft or lost it along the way. As she rose from the bed, a third option occurred to her, sending her fingers dialing his number.

Praying that perhaps he'd given his phone to Cora or Peter, and swearing softly when voicemail immediately kicked in. Holly found herself quickly running out of ideas. Only one remained.

Isaac.

He had a phone and she had the number, but dialing it yielded the same results as Deaton.

"Damnit," she stopped short of hurling her phone into the nearby wall. Instead she let the device slip from her fingers and bounce against the carpeted floor.

Tears had never been her typical 'go-to' reaction. But then Holly never felt so utterly helpless. She felt like that eighteen year old that dragged her mother from the pool and had no idea what to do to bring her back. Derek wasn't dead, but she felt him slipping.

Dropping to the bed, face buried in her hands, Holly cried softly.

"Hol… Holly?"

"Derek?"

Quickly she wiped the tears with the back of her hand and shifted on the bed to face him. She clutched the hand that reached for hers. Bringing it to her lips to kiss before encasing it between hers.

"It's okay, Derek. I'm here. Just tell me… I don't know what to do. I tried to call Deaton but he didn't answer. Isaac didn't answer I don't know how to reach—"

"—shh," he hushed her softly.

His hand tightened around hers momentarily but she wasn't sure if it had been a controlled reaction or a muscle spasm from the pain. She continued clinging to his hand, even as she used the other to dab sweat away from his brow with a washcloth.

"You're going to be okay. I just need you to tell me what to do, okay?"

"I… I love… you," he whispered between panting breathes. "Always… have."

"Derek. No."

She waited for him to say something else, watched the uneven rise and fall of his chest. When it stilled she felt her own heart seize in her chest.

"Derek?" her voice barely a whisper in the silence.

"Derek, don't you die on me."

She loosened her grip and prayed he would continue to hold on, but his hand slipped from hers like a stone released into the stream.

"Derek."

The first tears trickled from her eyes when shaking him yielded no response. Holly shook him again, harder this time as if she could shake the life back into his body. It didn't work, nor did the hard slap she delivered to his face. She pressed her fingers against his throat, nearly pushing them through the other side in frantic search for a pulse she knew wouldn't be there. Just as she knew when she rested her ear against his chest no beating heart would greet her.

Her soul didn't just break, it fractured into pieces. An ache deeper than anything she felt, beyond anything she thought she'd ever be capable of experiencing. Tears from her eyes fell freely. A steady flow against her cheek and cascading onto his chest, as Holly stretched alongside him, clung to his body, and silently wept.

* * *

Cora opened the refrigerator and checked out the contents again, as if the appliance spontaneously gave birth to food since she checked three hours ago. Waiting sucked, but being hungry and waiting sucked on a completely different level.

"How long are we supposed to wait here?" she asked as she turned to Peter standing in the doorway.

She heard his approach, but then in that house it was hard not to hear every little sound. It was like being in a giant echo chamber, though she imaged if there'd been more furniture, carpeting and rugs to absorb the sound it wouldn't have been as bad. Cora had never been to Holly's home. She guessed even though she and Holly were friends, at least Holly spent time with her when she came over to visit Derek, there'd never been a reason to invite her over.

As Peter gave her a tour of the house upon their arrival, she tried to picture it fully furnished as Holly's mother might have had it, not mostly empty with the majority of the furnishings left behind covered with white sheets.

"I can think of worse places we could wait," Peter offered. He made his way to one of the cabinets, opened it, pulled out a box of microwave popcorn and prepared it for cooking. "Actually I'm thinking maybe Derek should give up the loft and move in here. I've always liked this house."

He finished by closing the door on the microwave and pushing the button labeled popcorn.

"You seem awfully familiar with this place. Like you've been here several times before."

He shrugged his shoulders.

"Derek told me you had an affair with Holly's mom," Cora hadn't expected a reaction from Peter but she watched his face all the same for any change.

"Technically, she had an affair with me. But I didn't realize Derek was interested in who I shared my bed with."

"Holly told him."

"Ah," he nodded slightly.

"You don't think that was a little… ishy?"

"What?" Peter pulled the popcorn out and poured it into a bowl. "Having an affair with my nephew's best friend's mother?"

"Derek and Holly were dating."

He gave that vague shrug. "Your mother ended that aspect of their relationship long before I started dating Holly's mom."

Cora tried not to show her surprise as she eased closer and ate some of the popcorn. She didn't want snack food, she wanted real food, but she supposed it would have to suffice until they left. She knew Derek and Holly started dating rather abruptly. For years he referred to her as his best friend and one day he started calling her his girlfriend. She also knew they broke up just as abruptly.

It felt like Holly hadn't just broken up with him she broke up with the entire family. Holly stayed at their house, practically lived at their house, and one day she just stopped coming around as much. At the time, Cora hadn't understood why she went from seeing Holly every day, to once a week, if that.

She did remember how it felt. Like she'd been abandoned.

"Besides, Holly's mom was beautiful, rich, and unhappy. Which I've noticed, seems to be a family trait."

Slowly, she raised her eyes to glare at her uncle. Hopefully he could see the urge to punch him in her face. If not, she would gladly demonstrate it for him.

"Holly's not unhappy."

"No? So she's not in love with a werewolf that's not called her in a week?"

"She wouldn't cheat on Derek," she continued glaring at her uncle.

"I'm sure Holly's father thought the same of his wife," he paused dramatically. "Of course the situation is different."

"Yeah," Cora scoffed. "Derek's not an abusive psychopath."

"That's not exactly what I meant."

"What exactly did you mean, then?"

She watched what appeared to be an internal debate going on inside Peter as he perched himself on a bar stools in front of the island.

"Technically it's not my place to say. But since he's your Alpha and your brother, and since he seems to have no compunction over sharing intimate details of my life, I suppose we can say you have a right to know."

"A right to know what?"

"Derek bonded his and Holly's souls together."

"What?" Cora narrowed her gaze. "I don't believe you."

"And yet that doesn't stop it from being true."

"Derek wouldn't do that. He knows what's at risk. He wouldn't make Holly more of a target by bonding her to him, only to push her away."

As Cora talked she tried to reason through any possibly rationality Derek might have for his actions. If she knew the risks, hell the danger, he had to know.

"He did it when they were twelve. Completely, accidental on purpose."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means at the time he did it, he didn't realize that's what he was doing. Unfortunately bonding with someone is much like losing your v-card. Once it's gone, it's gone. You can't become a virgin again and once you've established a bond with someone, nothing can break it."

"Death?" she questioned. All the confidence of before fading away.

"According to legend," Peter began and tossed some popcorn into his mouth. "When one dies the other doesn't last much longer. The soul can't survive the death, or something along those lines."

"Is it true?" she swallowed the lump in her throat.

He made a vague gesture with his hand that could have meant any number of things. "Hard to say for sure. The lines of myths and legend and reality after so many centuries blur together until it becomes impossibly to distinguish one for the other."

"Do you believe it's true?"

"I don't know. I've never known any bonded werewolves and I'm not a fan of taking things on faith. But there has to be a reason so few werewolf couples elect to bond themselves together."

Cora pursed her lips as she settled back onto her own stool, no longer hungry.

"If Derek created the bond when they were twelve… I thought it was supposed to be like a one true love type deal."

"For werewolves. Holly's not a werewolf. Besides with enough time and enough incentive. You can convince yourself of just about anything. Including being in love with someone else."

"So it's not as strong? Between a werewolf and a human I mean?"

"I've never heard or read about a werewolf creating the bond with a non-werewolf. Of course that isn't to say it's not possible, obviously it is. Leave it to Derek to go about things in the most complicated manner possible."

Cora narrowed her gaze at her uncle. When he smiled back at her, she narrowed it even more. She probably would have been content to glare at him for the rest of the night had another thought not popped to the front of her mind.

"Does Holly know?"

"You know how close Derek keeps his cards," his words followed a pointed look. "What do you think?"

* * *

Nothing existed save consciousness.

And absolute darkness.

The kind of darkness that children openly feared and adults pretended not to be afraid of but secretly feared. No sound, no sight, no smells, no feeling. He had no sense of up or down he could have just as easily been standing, lying down or suspended in midair. Time didn't exist. Seconds, minutes, hours, days could have passed.

Feeling partially returned first.

His entire body tingled. It felt like someone sent electricity through him, but with the intent to heal, not hurt. The electricity brought back more feelings and with it memory triggered. The fight, the fall… waking up in the abandoned mall to a body lit with pain. He should have hurt more, but he didn't. He felt his body healing when it shouldn't have been healing. Not this fast. Not this soon.

He felt something soft under his body. A mattress… and with that recognition everything flooded back. The memories of escaping the mall, traveling through the woods to the school…

Holly.

He tasted her scent on his tongue, felt her inside his body.

Derek's eyes snapped open and he gasped in a lungful of air.

"Derek!"

It took Derek a moment to realize the weight that lifted from his chest belonged to Holly. And another moment for him to focus on her face staring at him. Emotions chased each other across her face. As soon as one settled another pushed it aside.

"Holly?"

"You're dead," she muttered apparently too stunned to elaborate as she just continued to stare at him with large, dark eyes.

"What?"

"You… died. You've… been dead for…" she glanced at the clock on the bedside tabled and gasped softly. "You've been dead for nearly two hours."

"What do you mean, I died."

"What do you mean, what do I mean?" her voice rose and took on a slightly hysterical pitch. "You died! You stopped breathing, your heart stopped beating you had no pulse."

Derek pushed himself up. First on his elbows, and then supporting his weight on his hands. He kept his movements slow, mindful of wounds that no longer hurt, not like they should have. The claws Ennis and Kali dug into his back, side, stomach and shoulders should have still been on fire, but they barely registered as a dull ache.

He felt starved, but it wasn't food he craved. Holly sat next to him in the middle of the bed on her knees. She didn't speak, she just gaped at him with impossibly eyes large. Shock… fear… both emotions highlighted by the moonlight that caressed her skin.

"Am I dreaming?" she spoke in a voice no louder than the whisper of silk against skin.

"No."

He moved closer to her, an inch at a time. Approaching her with the care of a startled deer that might bolt at any moment. He repositioned his body until his became the mirror image of hers. Until he cradled her cheek in the palm of his hand.

"Then how is this possible?"

"I don't know."

Her eyes closed as his skin made contact with hers, and with it, tears that shimmered in her eyes escaped down her cheek.

His skin tingled as her tears passed over his thumb, but when she spoke he felt his heart beat again for the first time in a decade.

"I love you, Derek."

She opened her eyes as he brought his other hand up to caress her cheek. Eyes red and tired stared into his, seeing him, but still not believing. Two hours. Holly told him he'd been dead for nearly two hours and from the looks of her eyes she'd spent every second crying.

Crying over him.

Crying for him.

Derek fell ignorant to the existence of pain, to the existence of anything beyond the woman in front of him. He exploded into motion as he devoured her mouth with his lips, with his tongue. He needed to feel as much of her as he could, as soon as he could. Needed to feel her skin against his.

Her shirt became the first casualty when his fingers released her face, grabbed onto the front and yanked. The motion swift and brutal enough to send the buttons scattering onto the bed and floor. Her bra suffered the same fate. He didn't bother looking for the front of back closure, one forceful yank separated the material and both garments were pulled free of her body. His mouth abandoned hers as he trailed kisses against her jaw and down to her neck. His lips instinctually finding the pulse throbbing beneath her skin.

The scent of her arousal tickled his nose, but it was Holly's actions, turning her head to the side and exposing her throat that threatened to undo him completely. Not trusting himself, he continued lower, pushing her back against the bed. His tongue trailed along her collarbone and down the center of her chest. He swore she stopped breathing when he traced his mouth around her left breast, but the sounds she made as he delivered butterfly kisses around the soft flesh, when he took her roused nipple between his lips and suckled nearly undid him.

He lavished her breasts with attention, nipping, licking, biting, careful not to sink his teeth into the tender flesh, but trailed the points against her sensitive buds. Anything to illicit that mewling sound from her throat and caused her to push her hips up against his chest.

Her fingers were everywhere. Against his shoulders, in his hair, along his back. Everywhere she touched felt sparked alive by electricity. Sent tingling shockwaves through his body and threatened to push him to a fevered state. And when he abandoned her breasts and brought his lips against her side his wolf rushed to the surface.

He felt his canines extending as the yearning to bite her grew stronger, damn near irresistible. He wanted to make her his in every sense of the word. When she arched against him. When she pressed the supple flesh against his fangs, he widened his jaw and nearly surrendered to the primal desire.

Derek pulled back abruptly, reigning his wolf under control as he removed the rest of their clothing. He forced his vision to return to that of a man. He needed to see her like that, naked, vulnerable, trusting him not to hurt her. Even if he knew no matter what he did, he would never fully be worthy of that trust. He used the separation of their bodies to gain control of the frenzied state he slipped into.

"Derek? What's wrong?"

"Shh," he hushed her softly.

Derek climbed onto the bed and started at her feet. His weight balanced with one hand while he trailed the fingers of the other over her skin. Her ankles, the side of her calf, her outer thigh, her hip. Her eyelids fluttered and closed the further up her body he went. Over her side, against the outer swell of her breast.

He settled his body between her thighs and as his tongue entered her mouth in a slow seductive kiss, his sex slipped inside her body. She arched her body against his and he felt it again. That tingling sensation igniting everywhere their bodies touched. He wondered if she felt it. It didn't take long for the sensation to spread from the contact points to his entire body. He felt it deepest in his wounds, or… from the feeling what was left of them. He felt them healing from the inside out. Each time he pushed his hips forward and sheathed his body deeper into hers, each time she dipped her tongue deeper into his mouth, he felt one heal.

Holly wrapped her legs around him, one twining around the back of his thigh, the other against his hip. Her body matched his rhythm, his pace, his need. Her fingers clutched him closer to her and created electric pathways along his spine and down to the swells of his buttocks. Each touch delivering a burst of pleasure until he couldn't take it anymore.

Too soon.

Derek grabbed her hands, raised them above her head, and trapped them there. Her wrists secured in one grip. If she kept touching him he wouldn't be able to wait, and he needed to wait. He needed her there first.

He altered their position slightly, forcing her hips up enough to create a different angle, just enough to pull his name from her lips on a scream. He felt her release, the pulse and pull of her muscles around his body buried inside hers. Unlike the last time, she broke from the kiss. Impassioned cries leaving her mouth mixed with his name as she threw her head back and to the side.

It was enough. Enough to send him over the edge and trigger his release. He pulled his hips back and gave one final, powerful thrust and buried himself deep inside her body. He drove his teeth into the pillow next to her throat. His canines, once more elongated, tore into the fabric her head rested on instead of her flesh and muffled his own fervid cries.

Even as his vision returned and their breathing settled he felt himself still hard, still swollen inside her. But he felt something else, something he couldn't completely understand.

He pulled her snuggly to him as he rolled them onto their sides. His hand shamelessly exploring the contours and curves of the woman in his arms. It wasn't just sex. Derek had sex with other women before, and with the exception of Kate, no attachment formed between them. At least no emotional ones.

"Derek—"

He silenced her with a press of his lips. The same lips he brought against her forehead, each eyelid, her nose, her cheeks, her chin and eventually her mouth again. She met his gaze and held it for as long as she could until the gentle press of his hips against her, plunged his sex deeper inside and caused her eyelids to flutter and close. The languid movement of his hips controlling each intake of her breaths.

Derek knew he needed to call his Betas and Scott. They thought he was dead. He should have been calling to assure them he wasn't. But he couldn't bring himself to move, at least not from the bed.

"Derek—"

He silenced her with another kiss and pulled her thigh up to cradle his hip as he continued moving in and out of her body at a leisurely pace.

He needed his Betas but at that moment he needed her more. He became so accustomed to the emptiness inside, he barely even realized it was there. The longer he kept himself from being exposed to what he missed, the more he learned to forget he missed it.

Holly ruined his plan.

With three simple words, she ruined him.


	14. Chapter 14

DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING. Well that's not a true statement, I do own some things, like my laptop, but I don't own Teen Wolf so there is that. I'm just having fun with the characters.

Thank you to those that have selected the story as a favorite and to those following! For those that have reviewed:

**RHatch89:** Thank you!

**OhhKellyRose:** That was my feeling when I watched ep 9 too. Another reason not to open up and trust people. At least hopefully Derek still has his sister. Thanks for the feedback. It makes it easier for me to write my OC. I think it also makes it easier for people to accept her (but I could be wrong about that). Add to that I agree there are some characters we just don't see that much of so it's nice to give them some time and I like making up what happened off screen to get characters from point A to point B.

**Stefani Demi:** Wow, what a compliment. Thank you so much! If you do write something let me know I'd love to read it. And I'm glad you're still into the story.

**Phoebe Nixon:** I'm still working out another flashback that incorporates some of the changes their relationship went through as children. It'll probably be coming in a chapter or two, closer to when I tackle ep 8. Writing love scenes... not as easy as it looks but it's gratifying when you guys let me know you like them. I'm not through messing with Dolly yet though. *rubs hands evilly*

**Laieanna:** Sup lady! Maybe I should put a warning to have a fan handy for some of those scenes? Like I said above, I'm glad you guys enjoy them. Hopefully you all won't think I toss them in for the heck of it. I really do try to have the intimacy, if not drive the story, at least make sense at the time it happens, and not just toss it in for the heck of it. This chapter was actually supposed to be the first time they were intimate, but the circumstances felt right in chapter 9, so they got busy a little quicker, but it gave me a chance to show it from Derek's POV this time. That was fun!

**Hannah:** I'm glad you stumbled across it too! Thank you for the review and thanks for letting me know that you're enjoying my story. I will endeavor to keep you entertained.

**A/N:** And now on with the show. If you enjoy the story, if you have a question, or if you have any comments you want to share, drop me a review, I would love to hear and really enjoy hearing from you all! Also for those that saw episode 9, fear not... the darach in When History Repeats Itself will be different.

**TAKES PLACE BETWEEN EP. 6 & 7**

Chapter 14 – Riot Proof

An ominous day unfairly trailed a miraculous night.

It lingered in the air thick enough to cut with a steak knife. It started when Holly woke alone in her bed. Panic readily made itself her first reaction and refused to leave even after she heard Derek's voice in the other room. It set the tone of the day and dawdled, unwilling to leave as she ducked into the bathroom and took care of her morning ritual.

At least she looked refresh. In fact as she studied her reflection she couldn't remember a time in the past when she looked and felt so well rested. A feat in and of itself considering the lack of sleep she got the past week. And considering she found herself awake at seven on a Saturday morning.

Under normal circumstances, after using the bathroom, Holly would have tunneled back under the covers for another two hours. But it didn't take stepping back into the bedroom and hearing Derek still speaking on the phone for her to understand nothing about the current circumstances fell into the normal classification. It made her wonder how far she needed to twist her definition of normal for her life to return to that state. Or if it was even possible.

"Surprisingly fine," Derek stated to the person on the other end of the line.

Holly opened the dresser drawer in the bedroom and pulled out a pair of cotton shorts, tee shirt and underwear. She also pulled out a shirt she'd taken from Derek's loft. The one he let her sleep in when she spent the night. The one she'd been tossing and turning in every night for the past week.

"I already talked to Isaac. He, Boyd and Scott are heading back."

As she slipped into the clothing, she looked at the articles scattered around the room. Derek's jeans were still on the floor not far from her skirt and underwear. Upon closer investigation, her skirt turned out to be the only article of clothing she had on last night that didn't get shredded, ripped or torn.

"They did what they had to do. You all did. If I'm not upset you shouldn't be either."

Panties, bra, shirt… she picked each of them up and tossed them in the waste can in the bathroom trying and failing to keep the memory of last night from entering her head. She might as well tried to stop a semi with the force of her mind.

A shiver ran the length of her body as her mind created a phantom touch of his lips against her breasts.

"I have to go… soon," came a grumpy reply. "I'll meet you at the loft. Then I'll meet you both at the loft."

Holly entered the main room as Derek ended the call. He stood in the center of the room, dressed only in a pair of navy blue boxer briefs that left very little to the imagination. Then again she didn't need to imagine what the material covered. She experienced it first hand last night, several times, in several positioned.

"I used your phone," he held the device up and placed it on the table. "I needed to call the others. Let them know I wasn't dead."

Holly nodded, stared at him, and cursed her hormones. She knew the words that would soon find their way out of his mouth, and despite them she wanted him. Despite knowing he was about to push her away, her brain didn't want to function on a higher level. It wanted to wallow in the memory of how his calloused palms felt sliding against her skin.

"I…" she hiked a thumb over her shoulder and into the bedroom. "I have one of your shirts."

He looked surprised but also mildly relieved as he crossed the room. He stopped when he passed her. Not so much stopped as stalled, hesitated… he began to reach for her but stopped and curled the fingers into a fist instead.

"I tried to call Isaac last night but I didn't reach him. Probably good I didn't since at the time you were dying. I didn't have Cora's number."

"I programed it into your phone," he called from the bedroom.

"We have to talk."

"I have to go."

Their words came out simultaneously as Derek stepped back into the room.

"We don't have time for this now."

"You need to make time for it now."

"I killed Ennis," Derek barely stopped short of yelling. "Do you understand what that means? If I don't kill my pack and join theirs they're going to kill us. All of us. That includes you."

"So let me make sure I understand. Last week they wanted you to kill your pack and join theirs. If you refused, they _would have most_ likely kill all of you. This week they want you to kill your pack and join theirs. If you refuse they _will_ kill all of you." Holly sucked in a lungful of air and pressed her lips together with a faux look of concentration wrinkling her brow. "Yeah, I can see the extreme difference in that plan."

"Last week Deucalion called the shots. He was in charge. He isn't interested in you. Hurting you was based in opportunity not part of his plan. Kali will hurt you to hurt me."

"You think I don't realize that?"

"I think you don't realize how dangerous this is."

"You died last night, Derek." Holly waited and let her words sink in. Her eyes holding onto his gaze. "Don't stand there and patronize me by saying I have no idea how dangerous this is when less than twelve hours ago the only man I ever loved in my entire life died."

He stalked towards her all fluid motion and grace. Anger sliding in those beautiful green eyes as he deliberately closed the distance between them. His eyes never altered in color but she felt his wolf staring out at her.

"You have no idea what you're asking. What you're getting yourself into." He spoke in a low controlled voice that made Holly want to scramble backwards even more than his stalking across the room.

"Gotten," she corrected barely holding her ground.

He tilted his head to the side slightly. The movement reminding her of how dogs sometimes look when they're confused or uncertain.

"I'm already in your world, Derek. Ethan and Aiden go to the high school. What you think they don't know who I am? If Cora smelled you on me they have too."

"Which is why I have to stay away from you. It's the only way I know how to protect you from—"

"—Just stop it. Stop it." she yelled finally pacing away from him.

She had to put distance between them. Between him standing so close and the words that fell from his mouth Holly found herself torn between jumping into his arms and punching him in the face.

"What are you going to do, Derek? Are you going to put me up in a tower and protect me from life? Have a dragon guard against any intruders? We're not twelve anymore and it's not just my father you're trying to protect me from."

"I know that," he seethed through clenched teeth.

"Then stop trying to assume responsibility for me. Stop treating me like I don't know what going on or how dangerous this is."

"You were pulled into a world that you don't understand. Against your will you didn't ask for this."

"I did."

She'd never seen him look more stunned than in that instant.

"You're right. The night in the boiler room I got pulled into your world. But the morning after… in your loft… when you came here after everything that happened that day, I made a choice. I chose to stay. I chose you, Derek."

Holly turned to face him as he moved again. Closed the distance separating them again. But where earlier his movements were animalistic, this time he approached with caution. This time when he was close enough he cupped her face in his hands and pressed his lips against her forehead. Initially she just leaned in for the kiss, but it didn't take long for her hands to find his waist to cling to. From there she slid her palms around his back and pulled him closer. Her ear pressed against his chest.

His heartbeat called out steady and strong. She loved that sound. She would never get enough of hearing it.

"I can't take you getting hurt, because of me." He spoke softly against her hair. His arms easily moved around her shoulders to embrace her.

"Please don't shut me out, Derek. Don't push me away and say it's to protect me."

"Maybe I'm not just protecting you from them. Maybe I'm protecting you from me."

Holly broke from the embrace. She wanted to see his eyes, to watch his reaction at her next words.

"Last night before I watched you die, which by the way is the single worse experience of my life, you said you loved me."

"I remember."

"Did you mean it?"

"What do you… how could you… of course. Yes, I meant it."

"Then prove it."

"What?" he narrowed his gaze slightly.

"If you love me, then treat me like you love me. Not like a child that needs to be protected, or a one night stand. Share your life with me. All of your life."

"Holly…" he paused and pulled away from her physically and emotionally.

"If you say I don't know what I'm getting into one more time, I swear I'm going to punch you in the throat. I know what I've stepped into."

"Do you?"

"Werewolves, death, seriously dangerous shit that could get everyone killed. But if I'm going to die, I'd rather it be fighting with you. Not hiding in a gilded cage."

"I can't guarantee your safety," he whispered.

"I can't guarantee yours either, so I guess we're even."

Derek removed the distance between their lips but stalled before completing this kiss. She felt his breath pushing against her skin as he battled, debated, and finally decided as he claimed her mouth and sealed their agreement with a passionate kiss.

* * *

Cora wanted to punch someone, anyone. The who didn't matter, not when there were so many to choose from. Stiles maybe. She looked in his direction and decided against it. Something about him… he looked like he might enjoy it. Besides, there was something about him that reminded Cora of a puppy. A Saint Bernard puppy to be exact. Something in the eyes. Loyal, faithful and annoying but not worthy of being kicked or punched.

Besides Derek seemed fond him.

He pretended not to be. Mostly from what she observed he pretended to be perpetually annoyed with Stiles. Some things about her brother changed, that hadn't been one. He always seemed particularly annoyed by the people he cared about the most. Stiles might not have been pack, but Derek seemed to consider him an extended member, and thereby, under his protection.

Holly and Boyd were out of the question, she liked both of them. Anyway, Cora was pretty sure if she punched Holly, Derek would throw her threw a wall. That left Isaac and Scott, and honestly, Cora didn't know what she was debating like she didn't know which she wanted to punch. It had always been Scott.

From the moment he walked in and began speaking she wanted to punch him and the feeling only increased.

"For you to not be in Derek's pack you sure hang around like you are all the time."

Conversation stopped and everyone's eyes on her let her know the statement had been spoken out loud and not just in her head.

"What?" she pushed when everyone continued to stare at her. She hadn't really meant to say the words aloud, but now that she had, she'd own it. "Did I say something that wasn't true?"

"We commonly refer to it as helping," Stiles stated with a few of his hand gesticulations. "That's what friends do. You remember what those are?"

"Have you ever been punched in the mouth for talking too much?" her question posed in a frank tone.

Stiles stared at her, mouth open in utter surprise. Scott looked as if he were trying to determine if she were serious or joking and leaning towards serious. Derek looked amuse, though he tried to hide it.

"I don't see the connection between the sacrifices and the Alpha pack," Isaac stated. He sat on the couch with Holly, elbows resting on his thighs as he regarded the rest of the group.

"Neither do I," Cora agreed.

Stiles sighed dramatically as if he just explained the theory of relativity and no one got it.

"What about what Stiles mentioned earlier?" Boyd looked around the group. "About sacrifices being performed before a battle to help ensure vicotry?"

Derek shook his head. "It doesn't fall in line with Deucalion's plan. Why send some druid—"

"—darach," Stiles interjected.

"Whatever," Derek paused long enough to give Stiles a glare, "After Isaac and Boyd when he wants me to kill them."

"Maybe animal sacrifice is part of the ritual," Holly offered, then added a, "What?" when everyone shifted their gaze to her.

"Animal sacrifices?" Isaac repeated trying his best and failing to sound insulted.

"To cure infertility the druids would perform a ritual with mistletoe on the winter solstice that called for the sacrifice of two white bulls. It's possible whatever ritual the darach is trying to complete needs the blood of an animal, or a unique creature."

"A druid ritual that specifically calls for werewolves?" Stiles questioned not bothering to hide the skepticism in his voice.

"You can take away someone's pain by touching them, and an alpha can turn someone through a bite. I'm guessing as a sacrifice the ancient gods and goddesses would find your blood pretty yummy. Not to mention powerful."

"Regardless… people are dying," Scott stated frustrated.

"But the sacrifices haven't been completed, right?" Boyd pointed out.

Isaac seemed to mull that over. "The three virgins were completed."

"But not the werewolves," Boyd countered.

"Or the warriors," Holly added.

"What?" Cora asked after catching the exchange between Stiles and Scott.

"We think they just haven't found the third body," Scott offered. "Mr. Harris is still missing."

"And considering he headed up the ROTC program and this is Beacon Hills. Missing is presumed dead." Stiles added.

"Adrian?"

Cora turned with everyone else to regard Holly again.

"You guys do realize I work at the school, right? I know who Adrian Harris." she questioned with an elevated eyebrow. "It's also ironic that he may have been a sacrifice."

"Ironic how?" Derek questioned.

"He's the one that turned me onto researching my maternal ancestry."

Boyd regarded Holly with a frown. "Why would your maternal ancestry be related to what's going on?"

"I don't know yet."

"Maybe it has something to do with the spontaneous healing?" Scott seemed to puzzle the thought aloud.

Isaac sat up, abruptly interested. "What spontaneous healing?"

Derek didn't ask or say anything, but Cora, and everyone else watched as he closed the distance separating him from Holly. He didn't ask, he didn't say a word as he lifted her hair from her neck and nudged her head forward.

"What?" Stiles asked looking from one to the other curiously. "What'd I miss?"

"I healed," Holly explained.

"Healed what?" Isaac asked.

"Healed like one of us," Scott offered.

Isaac looked to Holly, then over at Derek he stayed behind Holly with his arms folded and a smolderingly angry expression on his face. "How is that… is that even possible?"

"Since it happened I'm going to go on a limb and say yes. And to answer the follow up, no, nothing like this has ever happened before."

"You didn't think this was something you should have mentioned?"

"That would have involved breaking radio silence."

Cora glanced from Derek to Holly, though she quickly looked away as Isaac shifted on the couch slightly, Boyd found the floor suddenly interesting, and Scott and Stiles exchanged looks of confusion.

"How?" Derek managed to speak without growling, but Cora assumed it was because he only said one word.

"I don't know. Deaton didn't know either."

Lips pressed tightly together, Derek dropped his arms to his side and stalked towards the large window. Cora wondered which bothered him more; that Holly hadn't told him, or that Deaton and apparently Scott knew.

"We've spent nearly two hours talking about this thing and all we've learned is the name for an evil druid is darach," Cora stated pointedly trying to keep the annoyance out of her voice.

She didn't have anything to do, or anywhere else she needed to be, but she could have thought of better ways to waste her Saturday night.

"We learned it's not a very successful darach," Isaac added.

"Which means that he, she, or it is going to become a very desperate darach," Holly chimed in, though she mostly watched Derek's rigid back.

Stiles' face took on a pensive expression, hands gesticulating wildly. "Am I the only one thinking desperate and darach shouldn't be in the same sentence?"

"Derek," Scott stated in that earnest tone that made Cora want to punch him in the face… again. "Innocent people are dying. We _need_ to find this and stop it."

"I can't solve every supernatural issue that comes through Beacon Hills."

"We need to prioritize," Holly stated.

Cora watched Holly continue to study Derek as if she were trying to read his body language before splitting her attention between Scott and Stiles.

Derek scoffed, "Until Deucalion is dealt with, he is my priority."

Stiles sighed dramatically. Isaac and Boyd exchanged a look before Boyd's eyes drifted to her. He looked worried. Of course it could be argued that Boyd always looked worried but something about the way he looked at her was different. When he cast his gaze to Derek's back and back to her eyes she understood the expression. She also understood she needed to be as worried as Boyd. Her brother was gearing up to do something stupid and martyr like that would likely result in his death. Only next time it might be more permanent.

"Don't you care that innocent people are dying?"

Cora rolled her eyes at Scott's statement. "Innocent people die every day. We're werewolves, not superheros. It's not our job to save humanity from itself."

"A darach isn't exactly humanity attacking humanity," Stiles pointed out.

"My pack comes first."

That Derek spoke in a steady even tone that unnerved Cora, and from the looks of it, everyone else in the room more than if he shouted and lost his temper. The calm before the storm. He turned and didn't so much as glare at the others but stare them down. Cora felt it, the weight and the power behind his stare. An Alpha stare. From the reaction of the others, everyone in the room felt it. Even the non-werewolves had the good sense to look away in a subtle declaration of submission. Every one but Scott.

Scott alone held Derek's gaze the longest. He even shifted his weight as if he were going to square off with him. She felt everyone in the room tense and hold their breath. And just as surely felt everyone in the room sigh relief when Scott backed down and turned his focus to Stiles. Satisfied with the outcome, Derek took the spiral stairs to the open upstairs loft.

All eyes watched the Alpha ascend the stairs until he disappeared from sight. Cora shifted her attention to Scott. Once upon a time she might have agreed with him. Once upon a time when she read comic books and dreamed of growing up to save people like Wonder Woman. But things changed and she had to grow up. She wondered how much it would take before Scott realized he couldn't save the world

Everyone sat there in their own private thoughts. It was Holly that spoke first.

"He's right," she stated.

"You agree with him?" Scott looked dumbfounded and for some reason slightly betrayed.

"The imminent danger for Derek right now it Deucalion. And you're the one that came in here saying Kali is basically head hunting."

"But more people are going to die."

"I know that. We all know that. Derek knows it too, but he can't focus on random people he doesn't know. He knows Cora, and Isaac, and Boyd, and Peter. And until Deucalion and his merry band of psychos are dealt with it's not _if_ they'll die, it's _when_ will they die. That's where his head's at."

Scott shook his head still frowning.

"So where's supposed to do nothing?" Stiles questioned. "And continue to let a darach run amuck in Beacon Hills. That sounds like a whole lot of sitting around on the sideline."

"Look, just speaking as an outsider, you three," Holly gestured to Cora, Boyd and Isaac, "Need to back your Alpha, which may mean kicking him in the balls when he tries that pushing you away crap again."

Cora smirked at that. She was remembering more and more why she liked Holly when she was a little girl.

"Scott, you're a werewolf, which means your attention is best served focusing on the Alpha pack as well and leave the darach to me and Stiles."

"Me and Stiles?" Stiles repeated. "As in you and me going up against a mystical being that likes to sacrifice people via overkill?"

Holly smirked. "They're not mystical. They're just people that have learned to harness the energy of nature."

"That sounds so much better," Stiles replied in his typical biting sarcastic tone.

"Would you prefer the Alphas with their claws and teeth and pain of rending flesh?" Cora gave him a pointed look.

"To being turned into a mouse? Maybe."

"Druids can't turn you into a mouse, Stiles," Holly stated slightly amused. "Not unless they're really old and have made a deal with some dark ancient god."

Cora grinned at that and glanced in Boyd's direction. Holly could have been joking, she could have been serious, but the look on Stiles' face made it worth either option.

Holly stood and slipped Derek's fleece jacket on over her tank top.

"Those are just suggestions, or course."

She watched as Holly disappear up the same steps Derek took. She didn't need Holly to remind her where and what her focus needed to be, all she had to do was look at Boyd. Remember the three months in the vault. Remember the night Kali killed Erica.

Erica had to know what the end results would be when she charged Kali. She had to know there would be no way she would beat an Alpha. She had to know there would be only one outcome.

Suicide by Alpha.

Cora shifted her gaze momentarily to Scott and felt the urge to punch rising. She didn't like Scott and she damn sure didn't trust him. Why should she when Derek's alternate plan to attack Deucalion hinged on Scott sneaking around and setting up secret meetings? To make matters worse he dragged Isaac into the meeting as well. If Derek hadn't been there, Scott and Isaac would be dead or in the equivalent of another vault in another secret location.

Standing, Cora grabbed her jacket. "I'm going to get something to eat."

She knew without looking over her shoulder, Boyd was behind her.

Everyone thought Scott was the second coming.

If he got her brother killed, she'd pull his heart out herself.

* * *

Derek's fingers curled around the roof top's ledge as his gaze spread over the city lights of Beacon Hills. Sometimes, when he stood on the roof and looked over the city he felt like he stared into a fish tank. That the lights belonged to various bioluminescent creatures, not vehicles. Normally the ebb and flow helped calm him.

Not tonight.

Tonight even after staring at the traffic patterns for a good fifteen minutes his muscles remained coiled and bunched.

"You think wearing my jacket will keep me from being mad at you?" Derek raised his voice enough for Holly to hear it when she opened the door and stepped onto the roof.

"No, but I think it'll keep me warm."

Without turning to face her, he listened to Holly's approach. Felt the softness of her body mold against his back. The heat from her touch as she wrapped her arms around his chest. Derek desperately tried to cling to his anger even as he felt it slip through his fingers.

"You should have told me."

He tasted the hypocrisy of his words. Demanding that she tell him everything when he has told her absolutely nothing. He wondered if the bond had been responsible for her healing. Could it be possible for it to respond that way in humans when it didn't always provide that ability to bonded werewolves?

"You're the one who initiated radio silence, Derek. Only to resurface damn near dead. Only to die and comeback some time later. When exactly was I supposed to tell you?"

Derek turned and reached for Holly as soon as he felt the warmth of her body leave his back. He didn't let her get more than a step before he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close again. Her back now against his chest.

"I'm sorry," he murmured softly.

"For?"

"Shutting you out," he paused and buried his nose into her hair. "But I didn't do it to be cruel."

"I know."

"Is that why you agreed with what I said?"

Holly craned her neck so she could look into his eyes and so he could see the creases his words created between her eyebrows.

"I agreed because you're right. You're biggest threat right now is Deucalion and Kali. But Scott and Stiles are right too. The police aren't equipped to handle a darach."

"You think you are?"

He felt her shrug against his chest. "I think knowing the supernatural is real gives me an advantage."

"What if you get hurt?"

"It wouldn't be the first time."

"I don't mean emotionally."

"When I was released from the hospital I joined the Peace Corp. Our branch leader was a former Marine and when he learned our unit was being sent to Somali he trained us in some fighting skills."

Derek inhaled deeply and pulled the core of Holly's scents into his lung. Smelling her had a calming effect on him he never experienced before, even when they were kids. But calming wasn't the only effect she had on him. And the other could be much more dangerous, at least for her.

The longer she stayed with him, the longer they stayed together the more his scent would cover her body and vice versa until their scents would blend and create something different. Something joined. Something that would identify to any wolf with a nose they were together, mated… bonded.

Derek needed to pull away. There were things he needed to tell her. Thing he needed to confess. An accident he needed to explain. He should have been talking, not spreading his fingers across her stomach while his other hand caressed her throat and tipped her head back. His lips found hers already open and inviting. Her tongue flicked playfully against his as she slipped it inside his mouth.

She tried to turn but he grabbed onto her hips and locked her body against his. He needed to stop, repeating the command in his head but it wasn't the one leading his actions. He pushed his fingers past the barrier of her waistband until he touched liquid gold. The slightest trace of his thumb eliciting a moan from her lips.

"Derek wait," Holly panted. She wrapped her fingers around his wrist and withdrew his hand.

"They're gone."

"They're… how do you know that?"

"Their heartbeats."

Heartbeats.

The pause had been the break his brain needed to take control of his actions, and despite his arms' singular desire to remain locked around her body he released her. Looking at the back of her neck helped solidify his resolve. She hadn't just healed, she healed like a werewolf. No scar remained to mark the sight of Deucalion's claws. The punctures closed and left behind perfect, unblemished flesh.

"Do you trust me?"

"Yes."

He offered the barest of smiles and raised his hand. He held it out towards her, just as he had done the morning he found her in the school's basement. A silent invitation. She didn't hesitate as long as she had then, though she alternated her gaze between the hand and his eyes several times before she fitted her palm into his.

He didn't want to believe Peter was right, but he couldn't ignore the signs.

She trusted him now. But would she continue to trust him if she learned what he suspected from someone else? Would it matter that he wanted to understand it better himself before he told her? Or would his lie by omission be too much to see around?

Dealing with the kanima and Scott taught Derek just how valuable and fragile trust could be. And once broken, how it could take so very long to heal. His lack of trust in Scott bit him hard in the ass and the wound still hadn't healed. He knew Scott wanted to trust him, but he was equally aware he still didn't. Not completely. If he did, Scott would have told him about the meeting with Deucalion.

He couldn't let the same thing happen with Holly. He couldn't let her lack of trust turn into lack of confiding in him. He couldn't have the words _do you trust me_ come out of his mouth and have anything other than _yes_ come out of hers.


	15. Chapter 15

DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING. Well that's not a true statement, I do own some things, like my laptop, but I don't own Teen Wolf so there is that. I'm just having fun with the characters.

Thank you to those that have selected the story as a favorite and to those following! For those that have reviewed:

**RHatch89:** Thank you! And I'm really looking forward to writing that out.

**Phoebe Nixon:** I tend to get my thoughts out, then go back and proof read, but clearly I need to be a bit more thorough. Thank you for the catch! And I'm glad it didn't throw you too far out of the story where you couldn't enjoy it.

**LizzyKae:** More to come on the darach front and how it will mesh with my story/take on the story, which hopefully everyone will like and not cause too many eye rolls. As for the black goo, it's actually explained in this chapter. Let me know what you think.

**Hannah:** Thank you for the feedback and thank you so much for reading. I'm glad you're able to get into my OC and her interaction with Derek. Hopefully you feel she's being integrated with the canon characters. Hope you enjoy this chapter.

**Alex Australia:** If your name is a tell you're from Australia? That's awesome. I don't know why it makes me smile that someone in a different country... on the other side of the planet found and enjoys my story, but I've learned to embrace my oddball-ness. Anyway thank you for the review and for the honor of the number one spot! Thank you! I really hope you continue to read and enjoying and of course review!

**A/N:** And now on with the show. If you enjoy the story, if you have a question, or if you have any comments you want to share, drop me a review, I would love to hear and really enjoy hearing from you all! Also for those that saw episode 9, fear not... the darach in When History Repeats Itself will be different.

**A/W:** So as we get closer to the end of the season it's become evident to me, and probably you readers watching Teen Wolf, that in order to keep the flow of my story there will need to be some aspects of the show that change. Hence this **author's warning**. Some of you may have noticed (and if you don't you know now ;) ) that I tend to write in the pauses of the show. What I mean by this, is 80% of what I write takes place during down time, or off screen while characters are getting from point A to point B. This is done because one, it's more of a challenge for me as a writer to come up with what happened in the pauses. Two, it allows me to integrate my OC and make sure she has her own voice. That being said since I've already decided my darach isn't Holly, and since the canon characters are spending more time together... AND since the episodes (at least 9 and 10) occur in the same night and not over a period of time you guys will see more overlap between what I write and the actual episodes you watch, and as a result of all the above, more of an AU shift. I will attempt to temper the invasiveness as much as possible, but I thought it only fair to warn you all the slight AU I referenced in the summary will mostly be coming in the following chapters. For those that either want to finish the season without reading the shift, or for those that simply aren't interested I will tag my chapters with the A/W warning so you can chose to read it or not. **This chapter does not contain any AU.**

**POTENTIAL SPOILER ALERT FOR EPISODE 8**

**TAKES PLACE BETWEEN EP. 6 & 7**

Chapter 15 – Ho Hey

The rode in silence.

If Holly had been asked what adjective she would use to describe the silence, she would have chosen painfully. Derek hadn't spoken more than five words together since they exchanged the roof for his car. And as he slowed to a stop in front of the burned out shell that once represented the Hale house another adjective came to her mind… foreboding.

"What are we doing here?" Holly broke the silence first.

She leaned down a bit to peer at the house through the windshield. Hard to believe this had once been Hale manor. Prior to the fire the house had been beautiful, though Holly suspected that had as much to do with the occupants as the architect. For a while they had been like her extended family. Now it looked like it could have been the set house for the _Chainsaw Massacre_.

"It seemed fitting to come here and explain things to you."

"What things?"

Derek focused his eyes on Holly but instead of locking them on one location they flitted around. Like he searched for something. Without answering her question he exited the car and waited for her to join him at the front.

"Derek? What things?"

She didn't like being there. It felt too open and exposed, and the angular triskele on the door created a knot in the pit of her stomach. Still, she took Derek's hand, holding it tightly. He led them up the porch while she studied the shadows of the forest and wondered had they always been that frightening? Or did they become more so now that she knew what could be lurking in them? If werewolves existed were vampires, gargoyles… the mothman real too?

He led them inside without pause and up the steps. While a good deal of the first floor remained standing, albeit with various holes decorating the floors and walls, and with vegetation slowly creeping in to claim the property, the same couldn't be said for the second floor. The collapse of the roof left most of the rooms exposed to the elements, and in six years the elements had not been incredibly kind.

He continued to lead them down the hallway to the last room on the right of the staircase. The room that used to belong to him. It fared better than the rooms on the left of the stairs and those on the second floor at the back of the house. But it hadn't escaped unscathed. A casualty of time or the fire, the door no longer existed. The wood floors blackened by fire and soot. Dry leaves long dead littered the floor but the sleeping bag rolled up and tucked against the wall by the window captured Holly's attention the most.

Derek released her hand as he entered the room and headed for the sleeping bag. Untying the strings that held it together so he could roll it out.

"Do you… did you live here?"

"I did when I first came back looking for Laura. I wanted to be close my family. To their memories."

Nodding slightly, Holly stepped closer to the desk.

"Is it safe here?"

"It's a sturdy house," he answered. "The structure will hold for several more years."

She glanced at Derek for a moment and turned back to let her fingers rest on the desk. "That's not what I meant."

She used to sit there, doing homework when her and Derek would study together. She decided not to push the true meaning of her question. Deucalion knew Derek lived at the loft now. The chances of him coming out to the house to search for him were fairly slim.

"Do you remember the first time we met?" Derek asked.

"No," folding her arms over her chest, Holly turned to study Derek and rested the back of her thighs against the desk. "But I remember the first time I realized you wanted to be my friend. I'd been in school for a month and no one talked to me, sat next to me, or acknowledge my existence except if it was to tease me."

"Yeah," he stood and faced Holly. His thumbs hooked into his belt loop while the rest of her fingers hid in the front pockets of his jeans.

"And one Monday out of the blue I got on the school bus, you looked at me, and moved your book bag."

The ghost of a smile touched his lips. "And you still didn't talk to me."

"I said thank you."

"You used to say thank you to the bus driver," he pointed out.

It was Holly's turn to grin. "At the time I thought you were just taking one for the team. Then when you sat next to me at lunch I thought maybe you were up to something. Like you and the other kids were playing some elaborate joke at my expense. Get me to trust you and have you push me down in the mud or something."

"Why did you start talking to me?"

"I heard you threaten Johnny."

He raised both eyebrows. "You heard that?"

"That was the first time anyone stood up for me. I pretty sure I fell in love with you on the spot."

Despite Derek having seen her naked, Holly felt a slow blush creep into her cheeks. Seeing her body without clothing felt different than seeing her emotions and soul exposed. In her heart she knew he wouldn't reject her, but there always remained that part of her, no matter how small, that would always feel like that girl without friends.

He crossed the room to her, took her face into his large hands and brought his lips down in a tender kiss. He took his time, savoring her lips. His teeth captured the bottom one in a delicate bite, only to pull away before either could lose themselves in the connection. She missed his lips. If they stayed together until they were a hundred she would never grow tired of kissing Derek, or stop missing his lips when they left hers.

"Do you remember when we were twelve. You had a fight with your dad and you came here in the middle of the night?"

She felt her smile returning. She brought her arms up to rest on his shoulders, so her fingers could comb against the back of his hair while they rested their foreheads against each other. He moved his fingers down her side and around her waist until they locked together at the small of her back. They moved ever so gradually in the pantomime of a dance to music only he heard. Holly lived for moments when she had Derek all to herself. The way he smelled, the way his body felt close to hers. If he held her like that for eternity it wouldn't be long enough.

She felt safe, secure, Alphas be damned. In those arms chorded with muscles, the heat radiating from his body, Holly felt like she could be in the eye of a tornado and remain grounded and safe, as long as Derek's arms were around her.

"I remember your mom was pretty freaked the next morning."

"But you don't know why," he spoke softly. "At least you don't know the real reasons."

"I assumed it was because she thought we broke the underwear barrier."

Derek shook his head side to side against hers. "If you're my blood sister you'll have someone who loves you. Do you remember that?" He spoke in whispers as he pulled back enough to look into her eyes.

His gaze always seemed more intense the closer those eyes were to her. At least than a foot, Holly felt her pulse racing. It felt like he was everywhere, like he existed everywhere.

"I remember."

"I didn't make you my blood sister, Holly. I created the bond."

Holly stared at him expectantly and tried not to laugh.

"The bond," she repeated unable to keep the amusement out of her voice. "Okay, Derek. What is… The Bond?"

"It's why you healed Deucalion's claws in less than a day."

Her hand reflexively reached for her neck and rubbed the phantom wounds. The seriousness of his expression and his tone more than the word gave her pause. Had her step back away from him.

"What…?" she stopped, uncertain how to finish the sentence. "No. No," she repeated with more confidence. "There's another explanation."

"What other explanation?"

Holly walked away from him to the opposite side of the room.

"Deaton said it sometimes happens to mated pairs. That they have the ability to heal each other. And he was asking all these questions, if we had sex, so since we did…" she pressed her lips and her hands firmly together. "…And since it was unprotected maybe something…" Holly pulled her hands away from each other. "…got transmitted."

"It's not a STD."

"Okay."

"And it's not something that can be transmitted through sex."

"Okay," she paused again. "Back up. What exactly is the bond? Is it like the milder, gentler cousin to, the bite?"

"You might want to sit down," he gestured to the sleeping bag.

"No," she pressed her lips together slightly and shook her head. "Something tells me elevation is required for whatever it is you're about to say."

Her words didn't stop Derek from moving to the sleeping bag and sitting down. He used the wall under the window frame to rest his back against. Legs bent, arms resting on top of his knees while he studied his palms. The moonlight framed his black hair, chasing the strands with blue highlights, lending him an ethereal appearance.

"My kind doesn't believe in soul mates. But we do believe that a person can find someone that is equally matched in every area that matters to the point where they can be considered perfect for them. When this happens, sometimes, the pair will bond themselves to each other."

"That doesn't sound bad."

Derek breathed in blinked, and refocused on Holly. "It fuses their souls together. It's like the effects of being in a pack, but on steroids. It makes them both faster and stronger. They heal faster, much faster than normal. They can track each other; precisely track each other over distances that should be too great. Some legends say a bonded couple possesses the ability of telepathy, and all these abilities are passed down to their children and their children's children."

"Every silver lining has a cloud," Holly stated still watching him closely.

She had to give him credit, he didn't back down. His eyes focused on her the entire time.

"Everything one experiences the other feels."

"You assume you mean… pain-wise, right?"

"Not just pain everything. If one is suffering from wolf's bane poisoning the other feels it. How much they feel varies between the pair. But, it doesn't just bond the soul it bonds the heart."

"It pulls a love potion No. 9s them?"

"I don't know if it creates love where there was none, but it focuses the feeling and intensifies it until you literally only have eyes for your mate."

"What about death?"

"It varies, but… everything I've ever read, everything I've ever heard, when one dies the other generally doesn't last long."

Holly lowered her gaze for a moment as she let the words sink in. She let her gaze wander over to the desk as she connected the dotted lines in her head. He brought her out there because he said it was a fitting place to explain things. Her eyes snapped back to Derek.

"Oh. My, God!"

"Holly—"

"—You didn't—"

"—Calm down."

"How am I supposed to calm down? Are you telling me you bonded our souls when we were twelve?"

"I didn't mean to do it, I didn't know I was doing it. By all right's it shouldn't have worked."

"Oh my God," she muttered once then louder as her mind made another connection. "Oh my God. That's why your mother was freaking out?"

"Yes."

"You knew? After I mean?"

Derek shook his head. "She didn't tell me what it was that I'd done, just that I changed our relationship."

Derek had been right, she should have sat down. Leaning against the wall, she wasn't sure her legs would support her much longer as her world shifted more and more on a diagonal angle.

"What did you mean when you said by all means it shouldn't have worked?"

"Because in all the legends and myths there's never been mention of a werewolf and a human bonded. It's never happened."

* * *

Cora shoved another slice of pizza into her mouth, pushing as much of the cheese and meat covered bread in as she could before biting down. The half-eaten slice constituted her fifth, not that she tried to keep track. When Cora got angry, she ate. The angrier she became the more she ate. And with the way she felt, she could probably eat the entire large pizza herself. Of course, after the loss of her family food had become a rare commodity.

For the past three months Deucalion barely fed them enough to keep them from starving. He'd been determined to deprive them of moonlight as well as food. Prior to her capture, as the Omega of her pack, she made do with whatever scraps her Alpha saw fit to push her way. After the destruction of her family, food became a luxury Cora often had to do without. Her first night as a free wolf she promised she would eat as much as she could, as often as she could. Disapproving looks from others in whatever food establishment she ate at be damned.

Across from her, Boyd worked on his second slice. If he spent more time eating and less time watching her, waiting for the perfect time to ask whatever question rolled around in his head he might have moved beyond the honeymoon stage with his food.

"What?" she finally asked, talking around the slice of pizza she brought to her lips to finish off.

"Nothing," he lied.

"Then why are you staring at me with that stupid expression plastered to your face?"

He shrugged and took another bite, and continued to look at her, though instead of outright staring he altered his method to sneaking peeks ever so often.

"I swear if you don't ask I'm going to start swinging."

"I thought he was dead," he finally confessed softly. "We all thought he was dead."

"Are you trying to convince me, or yourself?"

"What was I supposed to do?"

"Been there to help me bring his body back so it could be properly honored? Not have gone to a track meet the very next day as if everything was all right? Given a shit that the person that gave you the greatest gift possible died instead of killing you?"

"I had to go."

Cora rolled her eyes and attacked another slice.

"Scott was going to protect Danny. Isaac was going to protect Scott. I had to go to back Isaac. It's what I thought Derek would want me to do."

She scoffed and continued eating.

"Protect the pack… or what's left of it."

Boyd took another bite and they stayed that way for a while. Each eating in silence.

"Not that I'm not glad, but, how is he alive anyway?"

"I don't know," Cora stopped herself before she snapped the words out.

It still hurt. Knowing that for a short time she lost her brother again. It didn't seem to matter to her heart that it didn't last, it still made her want to vomit. Or hit things. Definitely hit things. She wanted to go up to the Alpha's penthouse and show them how it felt to have their home invaded.

If she weren't certain Boyd would insist on stopping her or insist on going with her she would entertain the notion further than just a passing impulse. But she knew he wouldn't let her go alone, and he made it pretty obvious he had no intention of letting her out of his sight tonight. She would have to come up with another way of releasing her pent up energy.

"Isn't there supposed to be a paintball park around here?" Cora shifted her attention from the empty pizza pan to Boyd.

"There's a paint balloon arena next to the mall."

"Close enough."

Cora left a twenty and a five on the table, courtesy of Derek's wallet. She made a mental note, reminding herself to ask him where he got his money from. Of course if she asked, he might realize she was taking his money. Then again, this was Derek. Chances were he already knew and just didn't care.

Their mom had been the same way. They didn't have allowances, they just took what they needed from the cookie jar. Derek learned it from watching Laura, and Cora learned it from watching Derek. Somehow, the cookie jar always had enough inside.

Instead of asking where the money came from, Cora would remind Derek to get a cookie jar.

* * *

Holly eventually sat down beside him on the sleeping bag. She adopted a similar position to his, though she wrapped her arms around her legs and pulled them close to her chest.

"That's why your mother made us stop dating, isn't it?" she finally questioned after the prolonged silence.

"Maybe," he gives a slight shake of his head and added a shrug. "Maybe she thought because you weren't a werewolf if we didn't feed the bond it would go dormant. Maybe even dissolve or break."

"How do you know it's the bond?"

"Because I know."

"Yes so you've said. How do you know since you also said you've never heard of it work on a human. And… and the research that I've been doing about my mother's maiden name is the same name as this Celtic goddess who was a healer from a family of healers."

Derek raised a skeptical eyebrow. "You'd believe you are the descendant of a Celtic goddess but not that you're bonded to a werewolf?"

"I didn't say I believed I was the great— whatever the correct number is— granddaughter of a goddess. And changing the subject only delays the inevitable."

"Yesterday, how did you feel?"

"I…" she frowned a bit turning her eyes from him to the doorway. "Upset, worried, the term emotional wreck is completely applicable."

"I meant physically."

She turned to look at him and Derek realized she still had on his fleece jacket. Oversized but not huge, the sleeves still swallowed her hands leaving just the tips of her index, middle and ring finger visible. She kept her nails neatly trimmed. Long enough to sound against a table when drummed. Long enough to feel their drag against his back when they made love. But not long enough to do any real damage, at least not to him.

Staring at her nails, Derek wanted to take her hand between his, to stroke her face, anything so long as it meant his skin touching hers. But he didn't. He couldn't. His brain operated irregularly at best whenever Holly was near him lately. Skin to skin contact resulted in complete malfunction, and he needed to keep his head clear and level.

"Physically I felt, ill and in pain, like I had the flu but different."

"Different how?"

"My body hurt worse than anything I ever felt, it was like…" her words trailed off as she held his gaze. He saw realization fighting behind her eyes, pushing acknowledgement even as she tried to deny it.

"It felt like you'd been in a fight, right? Like you'd been running for hours and just wanted to throw up?"

"I did throw up, a few times. I threw up, the black st— oh my God."

As her eyes grew larger with realization, Derek reached for her. He expected her to fight, or struggle or hit him the moment he touched her. Part of him even expected her to run. It had been as much the reason he brought her to the house as anything else. Even when he tucked her against under his arm and against his side she didn't resist.

They sat in silence for a while. Holly didn't say anything, Derek didn't know what to say. He knew he should have apologized, but had no idea where to begin. He wasn't even sure he could apologize for something like that.

"What does this mean?" she finally asked. "Why didn't I die last night too?"

"I don't know."

"Well, why didn't you stay dead?"

"I don't know," he answered again, begrudgingly this time.

"Has anything like that happened before? With werewolves?"

"No. I mean sometimes depending on the circumstances you can bring them back with a shock to the heart, or CPR or something normal."

"What about Peter?"

"Peter's situation is different."

Ironically Derek's muscles stiffened. Thinking about that night made his skin tighten. His goal in life was to never feel that utterly helpless again.

"But he came back."

"Only after he possessed Lydia to perform a ritual that left me weak as a kitten for several hours. And he's still not up to full strength."

"Do you feel like you are?"

He paused before answering her with a nod of his head. He purposely hadn't thought about it, but the question force him to do the assessment he put off for the past twenty-four hours.

"I feel fine," he murmured against her hair. "Better than fine."

"What do you mean better than fine?"

"Wounds made by an Alpha's claws or teeth unless, it's the bite, take a long time to heal. Especially for us. Werewolves heal from the inside out, unless it's from an Alpha, in which case it heals in reverse with the inside healing last and incredibly slow. Last night I felt it healing like a normal wound."

"From the inside out," Holly concluded softly.

She sat up and angled her body towards him.

"What's wrong?"

"Why aren't you angry? Why aren't you cursing my name and telling me you never want to see me again despite what the bond is making you feel?"

The surprised look on her face almost sent Derek into laughter. "Would that make you feel better?"

"No. It would make me feel shittier than I already do."

"It was an accident, you were twelve, I get it. Besides, it seems more productive to understand what happens now. I don't feel stronger or faster. And we still don't know how it is you were resurrected, or how I did it, and if I'd be able to do it again."

Derek leaned his head back against the wall and closed his eyes. More question. He thumped his head twice against the wall hard enough for it to hurt for a fraction of a second. He'd never had a headache, but he imagined the sharp burst of pain was what it felt like.

He didn't have the answer to any of her questions, or the ones rolling around in his own head. To make matters worse he wasn't sure who would. Deaton didn't know… correction, Deaton didn't know because at the time he didn't know they were bonded. Things might be different if he knew the whole picture, but Derek was hesitant in going to Deaton for answers. Peter might have known but he doubted it, and Derek wasn't found of showing weakness of any kind, including knowledge, to Peter. Peter's help fell under the _break glass in case of emergency_ scenario.

"Derek?"

"Yes?" he raised both eyebrows but kept his eyes closed, content to enjoy Holly's closeness through his other senses.

"If I asked would you give me the bite?"

His eyes flew open. "What?"

"I said if I ask—"

"—I heard you the first time."

"Well? Would you?"

"Are you asking?"

"I think so. Maybe. Yes."

"Which is it? Maybe or Yes."

"Yes."

"No."

It took a moment for his answer to register.

"What?"

"No."

"You said it's a gift."

"Most of the time it is."

"Then… what's the problem?"

Derek pushed up from the floor in one quick movement. "Deucalion, Kali, Ethan and Aiden."

"If I'm a werewolf I'll be able to protect myself."

"You don't know what you're asking for."

"Superhuman strength, speed, healing… all of that supercharged because of the bond."

"And a nice reserved spot on the Alpha's kill list."

"I'm already on their list."

"Not like this. Not as a Beta. Trust me Holly you don't want this."

"I do."

"I'm not going to give it to you."

He watched her rise to her feet. Angry eyes staring into his. "But you gave it to strangers."

"That was different."

"How?" she yelled. "You gave this magnificent gift to three complete strangers, while there were hunters running around led by a bloodthirsty psychopath. But me, the woman you say you love, you deny?"

"I can't."

"You almost did last night. Yeah, I felt that," she added at his startoed look.

"But I didn't. I stopped myself."

"And now I'm asking you not to stop yourself."

"No."

"I want this."

"Since when?"

"Since now."

"Holly… I can't," he pleaded softly.

"No, you won't."

"No I can't," he shouted, roughly grabbing her shoulders. "The bite is a gift, except for when it's a curse. Most of the times it takes, but there's no way to know if this time it'll be different. If this time it will kill the person bitten. If the bite doesn't turn you, it will kill you, and I can't go through that. I can't lose you like that. Not again."

He knew from the look in her eyes he'd said too much, gone too far.

"Again?" she searched his eyes. "What do you mean, again?"

"Nothing."

"No, Derek. What do you mean again?"

Derek fell silent and let the reality of the words he spoke to Holly in the heat of the moment fully register in his brain. She tried to approach him but he met her advancement with retreating steps.

"Derek?"

"Do you know how to get back?"

"What?"

"Do you remember the way we came to drive yourself back?"

"Yes, but—"

He tossed the keys to his car in Holly's direct barely after the confirmation left her mouth. She must have caught them, since he didn't hear them hit the floor. As soon as the keys were air born, Derek took off. He sprinted down the hall, ducked into the former master bedroom and jumped to the ground below. He landed in a crouch that became a forward roll, and pushed up moving without missing a beat.

Behind him, he heard Holly call his name, but by the time she made it outside the forest covered his retreat. He told himself she would be fine. There was nothing in the woods that would hurt her as long as he stayed away from her.

The instinct to turn her was strong. He felt the involuntary shift in his vision the second she mentioned last night. Apparently it only took the memory to bring the desire back to the surface. But he couldn't act on the impulse. He'd already did that to horrendous consequences.

Beacon Hills cemetery backed up against Beacon Hills forest preserve. It had expanded over the years to the point where the city lobbied for special privileges to extend its grounds into the border of the woods. Only fitting since a good number of the cemetery's residents were put there from animal attacks in the woods.

He didn't visit the grave often, but Derek always knew right where to find Paige. He tried not to dwell on the what ifs. What if he hadn't tried to turn her? What if Ennis hadn't lost a pack mate? What if he never listened to Peter that day? What if he never dated Paige?

His mother's insisting that he and Holly date other people had been the catalyst to approaching Paige. She didn't like him, didn't seem the least bit interested in him, so he could successfully tell his mother he attempted to date other girls. He would ask her out and she would say no, that had been the original plan, but somewhere along the way the plan changed. Somewhere along the way he caught true feelings for Paige.

Until his uncle, telling her what he was had been Derek's constant obsession. Would she believe him? Would his mother be furious when she found out? And what about Holly? After his uncle, turning her took its place. It became a road impossible not to travel. The only pause he gave to the plan was when he thought about Holly. A part of Derek always felt guilty when he was out with Paige. Loving her felt like a betrayal. A betrayal he would compound if he turned Paige, but perhaps one he could counter if he also turned Holly. She wouldn't have to be afraid of her dad anymore. She wouldn't be afraid of anyone.

All that changed the night in the hall of the school.

If only it had worked.

Derek knelt down in front of the grave and traced his fingers over the inscribed name. Fingers he pulled back before they came in contact with the photo of Paige her parents encased in the headstone.

And now Holly asked for the same thing.

The wolf inside unequivocally howled yes.

His heart screamed no.


	16. Chapter 16

DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING. Well that's not a true statement, I do own some things, like my laptop, but I don't own Teen Wolf so there is that. I'm just having fun with the characters.

Thank you to those that have selected the story as a favorite and to those following! For those that have reviewed:

**RHatch89:** Thank you! And I'm really looking forward to writing that out.

**OhhKellyRose:** I've noticed that too, about the stories where the OC is either already a wolf, was bitten by Peter or remains human. I'll be honest with you, I haven't decided either way, it kind of mostly depends on the upcoming chapter, but I think Holly as a werewolf might be interesting. I'll take your suggestion under advisement in weighing my decision. Who knows, Derek might find himself backed into a corner... muahahahaha!

**Draegan88:** Since I knew there would be some intimate scenes I knew I needed to make Holly an adult. Besides, while I can pull it off for a chapter or two, I don't think my teenager voice would be believable enough to support an OC. Glad you're enjoying the story. Please keep reading!

**Hannah:** Right!? The poor guy can't catch a break. And Deaton wonders why he doesn't trust anyone. As soon as he does BLAM. Thanks for the comment, if Derek can find happiness in the show, at least he can find it on .

**Jilly:** Thank you! I like said above, writing an adult is easier for me especially since I knew the direction the story would take. There will be another flashback or two. I've figured out how to really tie Paige into the history where it works. At first I wasn't sure I'd use it, but a lot of the readers enjoy Paige or at least how she changed Derek and what she meant to his history and after mulling it over, he wouldn't be the same Derek without her so... YAY for figuring it out. Your comment about Road to Perdition made me chuckle because when I started writing the flashbacks, that's how I pictured young Derek... well that and Hoechlin in 7th Heaven, but that was way before episode 8. Oh and spot on about the GoT reference!

**PhoebeNixon:** Hahaha... glad you liked the Cora/Boyd scene. Thought it would be nice to show them socializing a bit outside of the bank vault since it's obvious from ep 7 they grew close, and it also seems pack is super important to Cora. I'm glad you noticed the strength coming out more in Holly. I didn't want to make her Alison tough (going toe to toe against werewolves) especially since nothing in her background has prepared her for that, but I did want to give her a different strength, and I'm glad it came across. I try to take the opportunity to show a bit more about Holly's background and let more of her personality out when I can without beating you all over the head with it, so I'm glad it seems to be working.

**Alex Australia:** Glad you enjoyed the chapter and I've still not decided which way Derek will go, or if he'll be forced to make a decision, though that sounds like fun. There will be more page a couple chapters in the future when I get to episode 8.

**A/N:** And now on with the show. If you enjoy the story, if you have a question, or if you have any comments, or suggestions you want to share, drop me a review, I would love to hear it and really enjoy hearing from you all!

**A/W:** **This chapter does not contain any AU.**

**POTENTIAL SPOILER ALERT FOR EP. 9 (very slight)**

**TAKES PLACE BEFORE EP. 7**

Chapter 16 – Sweet Sangria

Cora frowned at her reflection.

"I feel ridiculous," she shouted through the closed door.

"Yes well, I need to see if you look ridiculous so…" Holly snapped her fingers. "And just so you know if you don't come out I will come in and get you."

"The door's locked." Cora pointed out.

"Yes, well, hears a life lesson from me to you, never let a locked door stand in your way."

Cora raised both eyebrows and let the ghost of a smile touch her lips as she pictured Holly with lock picks in hand. She didn't think she had it in her. Even before, Holly had always been a good girl, and good girls didn't know how to pick locks. Learning about Holly's new found bad girl ability didn't make it any easier for Cora to appreciate the reflection in the mirror. The skirt might have come pass mid-thigh, but it was still a skirt and Cora didn't wear skirts, or dresses, or anything that might leave her exposed, or make it difficult to fight.

The same went for heels. It might work for Dylan, Natalie, and Alex, but outside of the ladies of Charlie's Angels and movie magic she didn't know anyone who could actually fight in stilettos. It still amazed her people could walk in them.

"You have until five… four… three… two…"

Cora forcefully pushed the door open and stood there with what she hoped was a disgruntle look.

"You look—"

"—ridiculous," she finished.

"I was going to say beautiful. You have great legs, Cora. You shouldn't be afraid to show them. You shouldn't be afraid to show off your femininity. It doesn't mean your less tough."

"Another life lesson?"

"Direct from me to you," Holly added with a smile and shooed her back inside.

Something was wrong.

Closing the door, Cora quickly stripped out of the skirt and back into her beloved jeans and button up shirt. Anyone that didn't know Holly wouldn't have been able to spot it but her smile was off. It didn't come anywhere close to touching her eyes. She could guess at the problem, since Derek had been in an unusually foul mood before Holly kidnapped her for a shopping excursion. Though Holly handled hers better publicly, Cora had no idea why they were both in foul moods.

She wondered if that sparked the shopping trip. If maybe Holly's ulterior motive was to ply information from Cora about her brother. If so, she was wasting her time. Breaking up with Holly changed Derek, and it seemed every year after something else happened and changed him even more. She barely recognized the man now from the older brother she knew as a child. And even if she did… blood was thicker than money. Nothing Holly bought could ever make her rat out her brother.

Still if Holly wanted to spend her money… "I like these."

Cora stepped out of the dressing room. Her arms loaded with four pairs of jeans, two pairs of cargo pants, and quite possibly a dozen different shirts. Holly remained sitting in the chair with three shopping bags. One contained shoes, one contained underwear, and one held a jacket they picked up for Cora at another store.

An eager sales woman, probably working on commission, came forward to take the bundle of clothing.

"Are you going to get all of these?" she looked from Holly to Cora and back. "Or do you need to separate anything?"

"We'll take all of those plus," Holly stood and ducked into the dressing room long enough to retrieve the skirt Cora left balled up in the corner. "This and… Cora which were your favorite jeans?"

She blinked, shrugged, looked to the pants, and answered, "I don't know. I guess the Levi's," wondering if maybe it was a test.

"We'd like two more of the Levi's in her size if you have them, please?"

"Why don't you ladies look around, see if there's anything else you need and I'll have these at the register for you."

Holly gave a nod and made a gesture for Cora to follow the woman out. She had to give Holly props, she knew how to work the sales staff. Of course, Cora assumed that had more to do with her platinum AMEX card than anything else. The sales staff seemed to know her, at least some of them in other stores greeted her by name. Cora wondered if Holly hadn't spent five hundred dollars in the stores, if they still would have greeted her by name… and that had been just on clothes for Isaac.

"Why are you getting three of the same thing?"

Holly picked up a skirt, held it against Cora's waist and put it back. Only to sort through them and pick one out in her size.

"As a woman, you'll learn it's hard to find jeans that we love. One pair might make your ass look great but it gaps at the waist, or another pair might have the perfect shape in the legs but makes your ass look flat as a pancake. But when you find that perfect pair, you will wear the hell out of them, which means eventually they're going to get old, ratty and worn. At which point you'll want to buy another pair but they won't make that style anymore and you'll have to start the painful process of finding the perfect jeans all over again."

"Um," she frowned a bit and watched Holly pick up a few more items, two sports bras one black, the other navy, and matching yoga pants, before they headed to the register. "Okay."

Tasha, the woman that had been waiting on them since they walked into the junior's department of Macy's, took the items Holly collected and began ringing them up.

"Why are you buying me all this stuff?"

"You'll need something to wear to school."

"What makes you think I'm going to school?"

"Because that's what seventeen year olds that don't have their GED do. They go to high school and graduate. You were in high school, right?"

"Yeah," Cora agreed and added with a bit of force. "Last May. You know the school year started like a month ago."

"Your total is seven fifty-eight and twenty-nine cents."

Holly offered a smile as she handed Tasha the credit card, and then turned back to Cora without missing a beat. "You're smart. You'll be able to catch up and I'm sure Isaac, Boyd and the others will be more than happy to help you."

"Like I said," Cora continued, "What makes you think I'm going to school?"

Holly signed the slip, exchanged quick pleasantries with Tasha and handed the white bags with the big red star to Cora.

"If higher education doesn't get your motor running, how about because it's easier to keep an eye on the Double mint Twins if you're on the inside."

As she talked, they headed towards the exit.

"I don't know if I'll be able to get my records," Cora offered.

She wasn't sure how she felt about going to school. Part of her said yes, it would almost be like a normal life, but her life would never be normal, not really. Even without the Alpha pack, being a werewolf put normal well out of range. She hadn't been a normal teenager, nor would she be a normal adult.

"If Ethan and Aiden were able to get in with those records, trust me, I'll be able to get you in without so much as a blip."

"What do you mean, with those records?" she asked.

They headed to the exit of the mall, but it could have just as easily been to drop the bags off in the trunk as they'd done earlier with Isaac's purchases.

"They're not teenagers," she answered. "Their records are forgeries. Not even good forgeries but I guess Beacon Hills' school system isn't that thorough."

"How do you know they're fake?"

"I…" Holly gave her first genuine smile of the day. "I probably shouldn't tell you this, actually…" she stopped, and still smiling a bit, still blushing slightly, pointed to Cora. "You have to promise not to tell anyone. Especially Derek."

"I promise." Excited, Cora stepped a bit closer.

Holly groaned playfully and resumed walking. "I can't believe I'm telling you this. When I was in the Peace Corp… overseas I…" she paused and fumbled for the right words. "Didn't exercise the best judgment when it came to men I got involved with."

"You dated a drug dealer?" Cora asked in an eager whisper.

"No. Not a drug dealer… an expert forger. At least I think he was an expert, for all I know he could have been a hack. I tell you this so you'll believe me when I say once you know what to look for in forged documents, it's easier to spot one if it's low quality."

"You dated a forger," she repeated enthusiastically. "That's so cool."

"No, it's not cool, not at all. Dating a criminal bad," Holly followed the words up by making a face.

"Are you just saying that so I don't date a criminal?"

"Totally."

They shared a grin and would have continued out the door if someone hadn't called Holly's name.

"Holly!"

They both turned to see a somewhat petite brunette hurrying towards them with a smile plastered across her face.

"I thought that was you coming out of Macy's."

Cora watched as the other woman greeted Holly with a hug she didn't necessarily want to receive. More like the brunette thrust the intrusion of personal space onto Holly and for whatever reason Holly didn't check her back into her place. Cora crossed her arms uninvitingly over her chest.

"Hi Anne," Holly greeted after detaching herself from the other woman's arms. "What a nice surprise seeing you here."

Hearing the quick momentary uptick of Holly's heart, Cora barely kept the amused snort from manifesting.

"Doing a bit of retail therapy?" Anne asked as her eyes bounced to the collection of bags.

"Nothing like shopping on a Sunday."

Anne trained her gaze to Cora a smiled. "And this is your…"

"Friend," Holly supplied. "The sister of a friend, which makes her my friend so I thought we'd do some female bonding. Bonding of the females."

When Anne let her bottom lip slip into a pout, Cora felt the sensation to punch her rising.

"Looks like you guys are on your way out?"

"We are," Holly nodded. "We came, we saw, we bought."

"Such is my luck," Anne laughed softly. "I hate shopping by myself. I never feel like I can trust the sales people opinion on if something is right for me. Not like a friend."

"Unfortunately we have to be going now," Cora interjected quickly.

She all but heard the offer from Holly coming. She was just too nice to turn down the reverse invitation Anne tossed out. Cora knew from the five minutes she'd spent, an hour with the woman would send her screaming for the hills.

"Oh," Anne turned a slightly unfriendly gaze in Cora's direction. "Well if you have to do, don't let me keep you."

"I'll see you tomorrow," Holly offered and squeezed the Anne's arm.

Cora took hold of Holly's sleeve to gradually, but inarguably draw her away. Anne remained standing in the same spot watching their retreat by the time they made it to the door.

"I don't like her," Cora commented once they were outside.

"You don't have to like her, but you might have her for biology. She's subbing for Mr. Harris' classes."

Cora glanced back over her shoulder. At least Anne decided to move on. "Do you like her?"

"I don't know, I don't really know her, but I think so. Yes"

"Really?"

"She's new in school, she's new in town, she's just trying to make friends. So maybe she's trying a little too hard but," she smiled slightly. "It's something I can relate to."

"I guess," Cora muttered and waited until the beep sounded so she could open the truck and deposit the bags with the rest. "I don't trust her."

"And now you sound like Derek."

"What's up between you two?"

"Nothing."

Cora perched an eyebrow at Holly. "Liar."

"Okay, it's something but it's between Derek and me and we're fine."

"You don't believe that."

"We will be, we just, we had a disagreement."

"About?"

"Nothing that concerns you."

"Are you breaking up with him?" Cora asked assuming a defensive stance.

"What? No, why would you… oh, God… did Derek say something to you this morning? No, no, this is between me and Derek."

Cora felt herself continue to frown as Holly walked around to the driver's door of her car. She didn't believe her, not completely. Her words, while not complete and outright lies had the scent of deception to them. She just had no idea which part was deception.

"He didn't say anything," she finally offered climbing into the car next to her.

"Okay. That's, that's good. Not that you should feel obligated to tell me if he did. Not that I think he would. Are you hungry?" Holly started the car and glanced at Cora before checking if it was all clear behind them. "I thought we could grab a bite to eat before heading back to the loft."

"Sure," Cora conceded with a nod as she focused her attention out the window.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing?"

"Liar," Holly urged gently. "Come on, what is it?"

"After we're done eating, can we stop at Target, or someplace Target-ish?"

"Sure. Why?"

"I need to pick up a cookie jar."

* * *

"Again."

Derek barked the order after slamming Boyd to the floor for the tenth time. Peter kept count. Isaac so far had been the only one during the training session to take Derek to the ground. But since he'd been dropped thirteen times it hardly seemed to matter. Peter felt sorry for the Betas, but not sorry enough to leave his perch on the spiral stairs and share the abuse.

Of course Derek didn't call it abused, he hid it under abuse's gentler name, training. But Peter knew better. He hadn't seen his nephew in over six years, but he knew the lock on his face had nothing to do with the determination of teaching his Betas how to defend and attack. Derek was working out his anger through their hides. Several questions remained.

Did he realize it? Probably.

Would it cause him to stop? Probably not.

Would he beat himself up later over it? Definitely.

He wondered if Derek found being himself as exhausting as Peter imagined. Though not quite as exhausting as Scott. Thoughts of the young werewolf brought the ghost of a smile to his lips. He loved to live on the angst side of life, at least he believed that's what the kids were calling it. And so self-righteous. Always with the need to help and save and rush to the rescue. And sadly it seemed to be infectious.

Derek outgrew that phase of his life, or the Argents burned it out of him. Regardless of the process, self-preservation became Derek's go to defense mechanism. He saw it that night Kate Argent finally received her just desserts, and after he returned to witness the initial disintegration of Derek's pack.

Self-preservation at its finest.

And now it was all going to hell by the proverbial FedEx carrier.

Boyd's plan to try his luck exploded with the death of Erica. Isaac was even more ingrained in the pack then ever. Despite Derek's explosion and throwing him out, Peter doubted the kid could be pried away from his Alpha's figurative side. Add to that, he decided to play Scooby to Scott's Shaggy trying to find the darach. The whole thing made his hind quarters itch.

Throw in Holly and now Cora and it spelled trouble. The more people Derek truly cared about, the more decisions he would make based on what might help the greater good and not just himself. And that meant the more danger Peter might be in by extension.

He turned his attention back to the fight in time to see Boyd slam into the brick wall on the opposite end of the loft.

"Better," Derek said the word begrudgingly. Like they literally felt like acid on his tongue. "Better but you need to be faster. Both of you. You need to learn to anticipate your opponents next moves."

Isaac, breathing through his mouth, propped his body up on his elbows. Not quite glaring but definitely pleading for the abuse to be over with his eyes.

"Go," Derek ordered and gave a nod towards the door. "Eat. We'll pick this back up when Cora returns."

Boyd pushed to his feet and moved to Isaac, offering him a hand up. Together the younger pack mates beat a path to the door quickly, as if they feared Derek might change his mind and needed to escape before that happened.

"That was productive," Peter commented once he heard the elevator engaged.

"At least they're trying," Derek glared in his direction momentarily.

"How's that working out?"

"Why don't you tell me how it looked from your sideline vantage point."

"Painful," Peter commented after a moment of thought. Derek gave a snort at the answer. "For them of course. It's obvious you have something on your mind. Just too bad you're taking whatever it is out on them."

He received another glare as he stood and made his way down the spiraled stairs.

"It's called training. It wouldn't kill you to participate."

"On the contrary, from what I just saw, it might," Peter placed a hand on his chest. "Still not quite up to standards."

"You think that'll matter to any of them?"

"No, but I'm sure if I do have to fight them, I'd rather do it at ninety percent instead of seventy or sixty. Which is what I'll be after you get through beating me up."

"Training," Derek corrected with a growl.

"Yes, you say tomato…"

Derek set his expression to annoyed and retrieved a bottle of water from the mini fridge. Presumably an addition by Holly, as Peter assumed, were the microwave and toaster oven.

"Little touches of home, Peter said out loud.

"What?"

Peter gestured to the kitchen appliances. "Just noticing it looks like Holly is making herself right at home."

Derek took a seat at the table and set the bottle of water next to one of his ancient text books, older than him and his nephew and his niece put together and multiplied several times.

"Why are you here if you didn't come to train? You really think I need an external voice telling me I'm fucking up?"

"Perhaps I just came to see how my favorite niece and nephew are doing."

That got a snort, though Peter didn't expect him to believe it.

"By the way, how is Holly doing?"

"That didn't take long," Derek muttered pulling the book forward and opening it.

Peter frowned slightly. "What didn't take long?"

"For you to get to the point that really brought you here."

"You care about her, obviously a great deal."

"And?"

"And that means if you care about her so do I. I wanted to make sure she was adjusting to everything. It's quite a lot to spring on a lady all at once."

"And while you were seeing how she is adjusting you were just going to accidentally mention the bond, right?"

He barely suppressed the smile before it manifested. "Don't you think she has a right to know?"

"She already does. I told her last night."

"And she didn't take it well," Peter surmised.

He took a seat on the couch and stretched his legs, propping them on the low table and crossing them at the ankle.

"She took it fine. I think she was relieved since it explained…"

"Explained?" Peter pushed sitting up again with interest.

"Nothing."

"Explained?" Peter pressed.

"I said nothing."

"Yes and we both know that's not true so we can either keep at this for the next hour or you can tell me what it is it explained."

"There's option B."

"Being?"

"I could punch you."

Peter bumped his eyebrows upwards and settled back into the couch. "You were just about to tell me what the bond explained."

Derek exhaled loudly, not quite a snort, but not far from it either. "The bond, it's different with her."

"Different how?"

"The day after the fight with the Alphas she felt my injuries. Complete with vomiting black blood."

"That doesn't sound so different from what I've read."

"Yeah, well how many bonded mates have brought their other half back from the dead?"

Peter raised his head and looked at Derek. "Come again?"

"I died. Holly said I was dead for nearly two hours before I… came back."

"And you're sure she's the one that brought you back?"

Derek nodded.

"How?"

He offered a shrug. "Neither of us know yet."

"Maybe you weren't really dead."

"Trust me, I was."

"But how can you be sure? Maybe you were in some type of stasis."

"Peter… I just know. I was… when we…" if Peter didn't know any better he would swear his nephew was flustered. "I just know. There was something about her. She was different that night. Her touch… felt different."

"Different how?"

"Electricity," Derek offered after several moments of silence. "It felt like a live wire, but it didn't hurt. I could feel the wounds healing from the inside out."

"Alpha wounds?"

Reluctantly, Derek nodded.

"That's… different."

"Yeah."

"I wonder if it's because she's a normal human."

"Meaning?"

"When you turn her, will she still be able to—"

"—I'm not turning her."

"You're kidding."

"Do I look like I'm kidding?"

"You would leave her as she is? Deny her the gift you've given to others?"

Derek looked at his uncle not with the glare he expected, but with a pained, almost anguished expression. It trigged a light bulb.

"She already asked you," Peter pieced together allowed. "She asked you to give her the bite and you refused. Is that what prompted her little shopping excursion?"

Derek closed the book.

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why are you refusing to give her the bite?"

"Seriously?" he slammed the book onto the table. "You of all people know why?"

"That was nine years ago, Derek."

"Nine years and eight months, what's your point."

"Someone needs to learn to let go of the past."

"And when the same thing happens with Holly? What then?"

"You don't know it will."

"And you don't know it won't."

"Holly is different. You've already established the bond with her."

"Yeah, and a werewolf has never bonded with a human before. What's to say it will help with the bite? What if it prevents the bite from taking?"

"I've never heard of someone immune to the bite, but Lydia is proof it can happen."

"Can you guarantee the bite will turn Holly and not kill her?"

"No one can guarantee that."

"Then no."

"Derek you—"

"—I said no!" Derek shouted.

"Fine," Peter held his hands up in surrender and settled back into the cushions of the couch. "But there may come a time when the bite is the only thing that can save her. Are you going to continue to deny her, or will you put your fears aside and try to save her?"

"I'll do what it takes to keep that situation from happening."

"Assuming you can," Peter added pointedly. "Assuming you can."


	17. Chapter 17

DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING. Well that's not a true statement, I do own some things, like my laptop, but I don't own Teen Wolf so there is that. I'm just having fun with the characters.

Thank you to those that have selected the story as a favorite and to those following! For those that have reviewed:

**RHatch89:** Thank you and I'm glad that you are still reading and enjoying the story.

**TheWalkingSilence:** Hey thanks for the feedback. Writing both of those scenes was actually pretty fun, though the Peter one was a bit more of a challenge. I liked that I got a chance to show Holly and Cora bonding a bit, as well as some uncle/nephew interaction.

**Hannah:** It's kind of funny, this chapter was originally meant to be a combination of pre-episode 7 and the chapter below, but I also knew I wanted to show Cora and Holly interacting as well as Derek and Peter. I pretty much figured out by the time I got through writing Cora and Holly, I'd need to separate them. Which worked well otherwise it would have been a pretty long chapter.

**Laieanna:** I know, right! Poor guy's got so much angst inside him. Of course I suppose it's understandable seeing as every time things start to go right he gets kicked in the head (or other places much more painful). But it's fun to write. Sometimes it's interesting trying to figure out how things are spinning in his head. Or in the case of last chapter, spinning in the head's of those around him. Peter... I love Peter. Just when I think I have him sorta figured out he does something that makes me re-evaluate him. But he's so much freaking fun!

**A/N:** And now on with the show. If you enjoy the story, if you have a question, or if you have any comments, or suggestions you want to share, drop me a review, I would love to hear it and really enjoy hearing from you all!

**A/W:** This chapter does not contain any AU.

**POTENTIAL SPOILER ALERT FOR EPISODE 7**

**TAKES PLACE DURING EP. 7**

Chapter 17 – Fell on Black Days

She moved like a ninja.

As he watched Holly prepare for work, Derek held no doubts he had his supernatural hearing to thank for being awake. She barely said five words strung together to him when her and Cora returned with over a dozen bags yesterday. She'd still been pissed. She rebuked any form of touch he tried to offer. She even rejected him as she slept, close to the edge of the bed, curled in a ball with her back to him.

Yes, she must have still been angry, especially since she was getting ready to leave for work and the sun hadn't even brightened the sky yet. He continued to watch as she shoved items into a gym bag, a towel, shampoo, a swim suit. As he watched, he found his gaze drawn to her hips. The black and white pinstriped pencil skirt did a magnificent job defining them.

Derek swept the covers aside and padded barefooted towards Holly. Once behind her he placed his hands on either side of her legs at the hem of her skirt. Slowly, he dragged his fingers up the side of her legs, pulling the skirt up in their wake.

She didn't reject him as quickly or coldly as she had last night but he barely made it to her thigh before she did, reject him.

"Stop it," she muttered and turned, pushing away from him and grabbing her bag in one move.

"It's been two days, you can't still be upset."

"First, don't be so dramatic, it hasn't even been thirty-six hours."

Derek felt his mood darkening with each syllable.

"Second, why would I be upset? That my boyfriend has the ability to change people into a mythological creature with superhuman abilities, has changed people into a mythological creature with superhuman abilities, but refuses to change me? Or the fact that said boyfriend dragged me out to the middle of nowhere and then abandoned me there?"

"It wasn't the middle of nowhere; it was my family's house. And you weren't stranded, I left you my car."

"Did you want something, Derek?"

She walked to the door before she spoke. Hands on her hips, bag on her shoulder, squared off facing him. He hadn't seen Holly that pissed off, at least not directed at him, since his attempt at forbidding her from dating Simon. That hadn't ended well either.

"I need you to understand there are reasons why I don't want to give you the bite."

"Yes, the Alpha pack I know."

"Other than the Alpha pack."

"Like what?"

She stared at him expectantly, daring him to not tell her, or pleading for him to tell her, but to pick one or the other. And he wanted to, but he couldn't form his mouth around the words.

She nodded and started to turn away from him.

"Holly—"

"—Look, all I know is…" and she paused and stared at him. "I want to be with you, in every possible way and every sense of the word. I have one foot partially in your world and one foot completely out and for some reason known only to you, you don't—"

"—I can't," he corrected and watched her explode.

"Won't, can't, don't it doesn't matter Derek," she shouted. "What does matter is that you're saying no to something you've done before and you instead of telling me why you continue to refuse, you just shut down."

"I need you to trust me. I... there's more to... you don't understand the ramifications the bite will have on you. That's assuming you survive at all."

"Maybe it's time you trusted me."

Derek wanted to tell her. He thought he came close but the words refused to come out of his mouth.

Holly exhaled softly and shook her head. "I need to go. We have early morning practice this week instead of after school."

"Holly—"

"—Look Derek I need to go, because right now… all I want to do is punch you."

When she turned to leave he didn't try to stop her again. He slid his fingers through his hair after the door closed and turned to see Cora heading down the stairs.

"Why don't you want to bite her?" Cora questioned without missing a beat.

"Because," he answered going to the shelf to pick up the book he'd been reading last night.

"Because isn't an answer."

"It's the only one you're going to get right now."

"Does that mean you might give a different one later?"

Cora moved to the mini fridge, surveyed the contents and ended up grabbing a box of Frosted Flakes. She poured a bowlful while Derek took a seat on the bed again, legs stretched in front of him, book resting on his lap.

"Stay out of it, Cora. This doesn't concern you."

"If she becomes my pack mate I'd say it concerns all of us."

"Well," Derek replied nonchalantly and resumed his search through the book. "I'm not biting her, so she's not going to become your pack mate, which puts us back to none of your business."

"I know about the big secret," Cora revealed in a confident and hesitant voice.

"Yeah?" Derek continued reading. He knew his sister well enough to know she would keep on digging, keep poking him with a stick until he gave in but he could still hope for a different outcome. "And what secret is that?"

"But she's bonded to you."

Derek slowly altered his gaze from the book to squarely on Cora. "How do you…" he didn't bother finishing the question since he already had the answer, "Peter."

"She's your mate, which makes her our pack mate, our completely human and ridiculously vulnerable pack mate, which makes it again, our concern."

"Cora?"

"Yeah?" she looked at him eagerly as if she just knew he finally saw things her way.

"Drop it," he stated flatly going back to his book. "I'm not biting her. The end."

"But—"

"—Drop it, as in, stop talking about it."

"Can I just say one more thing?"

"What?" he gave an exasperated sigh and met his sister's gaze.

"You're not the only Alpha in Beacon Hills right now."

* * *

Holly stared at the front page of the paper. She read the headline for the fifth time, not because she couldn't believe two doctors suddenly went missing. That came surprisingly easy. The darach struck again, moving on from virgins to fighters to healers is seemed. All in threes. An obvious pattern for an obviously very specific sacrificial ritual. If she tried, she might be able to figure it out. There had to be something in those hundreds of library books at the school, or maybe in the dusty old books her mother kept in the basement. She made a mental note to stop by after school and search for any that might look helpful.

Holly re- read the headlines because she decided sitting down at the lunch table the teachers converged on in the cafeteria she would use the period to wallow in her own misery.

She'd become fairly adept in turning her thoughts on and off, for the most part anyway. Anything surrounding Derek still proved a more difficult challenge. Still she'd managed to focus her attention on school once she pulled into the parking lot. Practice went well, and so far the school day shaped up to more the bearable. Ironic since her life felt like a disaster zone. She wouldn't find it the least bit surprising if orange construction cones popped up and surrounded her.

"You look wrecked," Anne observed sitting across from her.

She raised her eyebrows quickly and sat up straighter, "Just what every girl wants to hear."

"I'm sorry, that came out wrong,"

Holly offered Anne a smile and waved off the apology. No need biting the woman's head off for stating something true. "No, it's fine. I'm just tired, a little grumpy. Don't pay any attention to me."

"It's got me upset too."

Holly looked up to Anne, then followed her gaze to the newspaper. "Yes," she agreed.

"Mysterious disappearance," Anne read. "Is it me, or does Beacon Hills have more than its fair share of mysterious incidents?"

"What do you mean?"

"A couple weeks ago there were the birds that flew into a classroom, all the disappearances, one from eye witness account, saying the car was still moving." Anne tapped at a line on the page. "I even heard about the body you found in the locker room."

"Allegedly found," Holly corrected.

"So you didn't find one?"

"No, I mean yes I did. But that didn't make it any less gone when the authorities arrived."

Anne reached across the table, wrapped her fingers around Holly's hand and squeezed. "It's okay. Even if no one else believes you, I do."

"Why?" she shifted her gaze from Anne's hand to her face. "Everyone else seems to think I'm riding the crazy train."

"I don't," she flashed a smile and pulled her hand back. "In fact, I think there is more to you than meets the eye Holly Williams."

"Ah… Ms. Williams?"

Both Holly and Anne turned to see Isaac drifting intentionally closer to the table. Holly's gaze shifted from the young man's pensive face, to Boyd's tense expression. He stood near the cafeteria exit, making no attempt to approach, but it was obvious he listened to every word spoken.

"Can I speak to you for a minute? It's about a book that I borrowed."

"Isaac I'm sure whatever you have to say can at least wait until after lunch," Anne chastised gently. "We teachers need our reprieve."

"It's okay," Holly held a hand up and re-wrapped the uneaten sandwich. "I've been staring at this sandwich for the past twenty-five minutes, I don't think another five will make a dent."

She stood and noticed Boyd left his post by the door. Smart. But then she'd picked up a while back, while silent, Boyd was more on the ball than people gave him credit.

"You realize destruction of library books is a federal offense," she comment partially for Anne's benefit. The horrified look on Isaac's face became an added bonus. "I'm kidding Isaac."

She followed Isaac into the hall and through the double doors leading to the east quad. A few students decided to take advantage of the Indian Summer like weather and eat their lunches outside. Boyd waited for them, with a gym bag on either arm.

"What's going on guys?" her eyes shifted from one to the other.

"Cora stopped by," Boyd began. "The Alphas were at the loft."

"What? When? Where's Derek?"

"He's fine for now," Isaac offered.

"For now? Wh… what does that mean."

"They left a message for him, they're coming tonight."

"Derek sent Cora to tell you to stay away from the loft tonight," Boyd added.

Holly knew she was frowning, but at least now the multiple missed calls from Derek's cell, and the text message he sent simply saying stay away from the loft made sense. She wanted to be angry for him not adding why she needed to stay away, but she supposed if she answered the calls he would have told her. Maybe. But then again this was Derek so, probably not.

Holly sighed, closed her eyes, and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Crap he's pulling his Lone Wolf McQueen routine isn't he? He's planning on taking them on alone."

"We're not going to let him," Boyd commented with enough conviction in his voice Holly believed if Derek tried to send them off he wouldn't succeed without a fight.

"But we need to borrow your car."

"Excuse me? My… no. No. There's no way I'm handing the keys of my Audi over to two teenagers."

"We need to pick up supplies first," Boyd stated.

"For?"

"Boyd has an idea about how to…" Isaac glanced at Boyd while he debated his words. "Gain an advantage. But we need your car. And fifty dollars."

Holly initially scoffed but a look to Boyd and Isaac let her know neither of the boys were joking.

"This better be an awesome plan."

She motioned for them to follow, but as before, Boyd remained behind while Isaac followed her back into the school and to the library.

"Tell me you're not using my car as a battering ram," Holly only partially teased as she unlocked the top drawer behind the library desk.

"Just quicker transportation."

With the drawer open she pulled her purse out, rifling through the side compartments for money. She hadn't made it to the cash station that morning, but she always kept mad money in her purse in the sum of a hundred dollars.

"I hope it works," she offered the words with the money and keys.

"Thanks," he pushed both into the pocket of his jacket. "Me too."

Holly took a seat behind the desk just as the bell sounded ending fifth period. Only three more and she could get the hell out of dodge. She felt her stomach knot up as she thought about Isaac's words. They were coming for him. Did that mean all of them or just Kali? The twins were still in school, at least for now, though Ethan wore a pensive look on his face as he entered the library with his brother. She realized, however, them remaining in school didn't mean they wouldn't have time to join Kali. Isaac said they were coming for Derek, but not when.

Pulling out her phone, Holly read the message and considered calling him back. She knew Derek. The window of opportunity for conversation already closed once Cora left the loft. He had to know she reached the school so he wouldn't answer his phone.

She placed the phone down, drummed her fingers next to it and picked it up again, pulling up the text screen.

Talked to Isaac. Don't do anything stupid or suicidal. Love you.

Short, to the point, and simple. Holly placed the phone on the desk and looked up to the sight of the twins staring at her. She tried not to fidget or squirm under the weight of their eyes but it felt deadly. Like she stared to long into the abyss and it finally noticed her.

She hated that she feared them and while outwardly she hid that fear she knew ultimately it was pointless. Even if they didn't see it on her face they could smell it. According to Derek, all predators could sense fear, and for some it was like blood in the water.

However, Holly realized as the twins continued to stare at her, they weren't the same. Aiden looked to be enjoying himself. Like scaring her gave his life purpose and meaning. Ethan looked uneasy, occasionally looking away and going as far as drawing his brother's attention away periodically.

A more permanent pardon came when Lydia Martin entered and took a seat a few tables over. She managed to capture Aiden's attention almost completely. When Lydia left, followed shortly by Aiden, Holly nearly turned cartwheels.

The remains of the day crept by with the speed of a wounded solider trying to pull himself to safety. The sounds of the eighth bell released the stampede of students to their lockers, rushing to grab what books needed to accompany them home. Holly lingered in the aftermath, staying behind long enough to make sure no last minute checkouts were needed before she made her way through the school.

Habit sent her steps towards the parking lot but memory of her car being borrowed had her shift her destination. If she cut across the football field she would cut the walk to her house in half. She could have asked Anne for a ride, but that would mean inviting her in, which would prompt questions about the décor. Questions Holly didn't feel like answering.

Bottom line, Holly didn't feel like company, not now. She didn't feel like hiding her worry about Derek, or pretend that her world may or may not end in less than six hours. Would Boyd's plan work? Would it give Derek a fighting chance against the older, more experienced Alpha? Last time she witnessed the aftermath of a fight between them it had been the sight of a metal pole running through Derek's back and out his chest. Her version of being gentle. Holly doubted Kali would be gentle tonight.

Leaving the lacrosse field behind, turned into a walk through the forest preserve that deposited her onto the main artery from BHHS to the town. Not for the first time she wished she traded her heels for her gym shoes as she stepped onto the uneven gravel that constituted the shoulder of the highway. Gym shoes and work skirts definitely was a look from the nineties, but at least it would have made walking on pebbles easier.

At least she wouldn't be on it long. And at least staying behind meant she waited out most of the traffic. Or so she thought until a Ford SUV passed her and pulled over to the side of the road, hazard lights flashing. The last thing she felt like doing was explaining to a parent, faculty member or worse, student why she was walking.

A door on either side of the truck opened. Holly plastered a smile on her face and continued walking. Continued until she watched Aiden and Ethan exit the open doors. One on either side of the truck. Aiden, who climbed out of the front passenger side moved to the rear passenger door and opened it.

"Get in," he ordered and held the door like some twisted valet.

No thought at all went into Holly's actions. The fight or flight instinct kicked in and Holly bolted like a deer. She swore she heard Aiden's laughter chasing her from the side of the road back into the forest. More than ever she wished she switched to her gym shoes. The heels slowed her down as they sunk into the soft ground and caught on the overgrowth.

She glanced over her shoulder and saw one of the twins. She didn't know which one, not that it mattered. They both exited the truck. They were both after her like she was prey.

The twin behind her gained ground. Looking over her shoulder didn't help. She made a last minute decision and left the neatly trodden pathway behind in favor of the thicker areas of the forest. If she stayed on the path, they'd catch her before she reached the school. Her only chance resided in trying to lose them. She ran until her lungs felt like they'd explode, tripping more than she actual ran until she found a fallen log to crawl under. She curled as tight as she could. Desperate to muffle her breathing she covered her mouth with both hands and listened.

Silence answered back.

No feet treading on dry leaves, no cracking of branches or twigs or the shuffling that came with walking through the forest in autumn. She knew they weren't gone, but maybe it had worked. Maybe she lost them. Or so she thought before the hand reached from seemingly nowhere and latched onto her throat.

Aiden, or maybe Ethan, dragged her from her hiding spot and threw her halfway down the embankment. She rolled the rest of the way and landed face down in a bed of leaves. They were on her before she could move; each grabbed an arm and hoisted her to her feet. But it was Aiden that wrapped his hand around her throat trapping the scream inside.

It felt like he tried to crush her windpipe. He used the hold as leverage to raise her from the ground until she dangled helpless like a fish on a hook. But then that had been the point. He wanted her to realize just how helpless she was.

"If you scream," he warned, "I'll crush your throat."

He let her go completely and Holly crumpled to the ground in a heap. Coughing as she tried to suck down the world of air. Ethan picked her up. Yanked her hard by her wrists, and once she was on her feet tossed her over one shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

She thought to struggle as they made their way back but it wouldn't do any good. Even if she managed to get away they'd catch her again. They hadn't hurt her, yet. Not really, but if she thought for one second she might have been able to get away she would have made a run for it. Holly didn't want to imagine what they might have in store.

"Put me down, I can walk."

When Ethan didn't answer or put her down Holly struggled. She moved, squirming on his shoulders until he had to place her on the ground or drop her. She took a step back and bumped against Aiden.

"If you run I'll break your legs," Aiden assured her.

They resumed walking when Holly nodded. Ethan in front, Aiden behind, occasionally pushing her when he felt she began lagging too far behind. She was scared, no she was terrified but she didn't think they meant to kill her. The threats implied maiming. Painful maiming but not murder. Not yet.

The SUV came into view and Aiden shoved her up the embankment to the back door he'd opened. He continued manhandling her into the back of the truck where she found herself sandwich between the twins with Kali behind the wheel. She managed to look perfectly normal, grinning at Holly like her long lost friend.

"Seatbelt," at Kali's words Aiden fastened the security device over Holly's shoulder and waist. "You're so fragile and we don't want anything happening to you. Not yet."

"What do you want with me?"

Kali settled back behind the wheel and started the truck.

"When Derek finds out you took me he'll come for me. It doesn't matter where you take me, he'll find me, and he'll kill you. I promise he will."

"He won't have to find you," Aiden informed.

"We're taking you to him."

Funny, it didn't sound as much like a threat coming from the other twin's mouth. In fact to Holly it almost sounded as if he spoke the words to comfort her.

"Derek killed Ennis," Kali stated.

"Technically, Deucalion killed Ennis when he—"

Aiden's fingers transformed into claws as they wrapped around her throat again. Just as before she squeezed until she felt her eyes would pop out of her head.

"This is the part where you shut up," Kali informed.

Tears spilled from the corner of both eyes and she coughed violently when he released her throat.

"Derek fights me, or you die," Kali continued as she drove into the heart of downtown. "And we know about Boyd's little plan."

Holly's eyes widened slightly as she met Kali's amused gaze in the rearview mirror. "Aiden heard him and Isaac talking it over."

"Would have been a good plan if it worked," Aiden added.

He looked bored as he stared out the window and watched the scenery whip by. Ethan looked, concerned. Or perhaps he was preparing himself for battle and he put his game face on. As she road in the backseat stuck between the twins, Holly tried to convince herself she wasn't terrified. When that failed she simply tried to stop her body from trembling all over.

She didn't want to see Derek fight, no matter who the opponent but she definitely didn't want to see him fight Kali. Last time hadn't ended well for Derek and knowing she would be the tool that forced him to fight made her feel even more helpless than she did trapped between Ethan and Aiden. Channeling the helpless feeling into anger helped, but the fear remained. When they pulled into the open area of the abandoned building it magnified.

Holly unbuckled herself as soon as Kali shut the car off. Ethan opened his door and got out. Aiden must have known she considered running because he grabbed hold of her arm and hauled her roughly out on his side. He pulled her towards the stairs when the illuminated exit sign above the door darkened.

Much as Ethan did in the forest, Aiden tossed Holly over his shoulders and mounted the steps. She bit her lip to keep from screaming out as he alternated between leaping up the stairs and climbing up the hand rails. Her position made it impossible for her to hold onto him without wrapping her arm around his waist. So she settled for clutching the back of his shirt with one hand and using the other arm to protect her head from any accidental hits she might take.

Somewhere along the way, Ethan joined them. It seemed to take forever to reach the top. Once there, Kali gave them a look, a sadistic smile on her face as her eyes glowed red and she approached the door. Aiden set her back on her feet, but traded one hold for another. He wrapped one claw hand around her throat and used the other to grip her hair painfully tight. Ethan settled for holding onto her arm though he held it as if the ultimate purpose might have been to pull it from its socket.

"…and I thought," she heard Kali rambling as the twins moved her closer to the door. Ethan pulling, Aiden pushing. "What's a girl gotta do to get you alone."

She struggled against them, knowing it wouldn't do any good yet it made her feel better to know she didn't go quietly. Until she saw him. Fear seized her heart for a moment and turned her blood to ice. Knowing his true nature was one thing, but Holly never witnessed the extent of his transformation beyond the red of his eyes. But it wasn't just his eyes.

The same claws gripping her throat and hair extended from Derek's hands. Fur filled in his jawline and his face was partially human, partially animal. It reminded her of the Wolfman with Benicio Del Toro. Flanking him on either side stood Boyd and Isaac. Each ready to fight with their Alpha.

Five second ago she would have sworn she would never be able to read his face like that, but the look that came over him was unmistakable, even in the transformation. He saw her. Saw Ethan and Aiden holding her down. Holly stopped struggling as Kali spoke her challenge.

"You and me, Derek. Or they tear her apart. What do you say? You think you can beat me one on one?"

Derek made a gesture with his head, the unspoken words clear, though Boyd and Isaac exchanged a look between each other before sloshing through the water to stand in the shadows. Only then did Holly realize a good six inches of water covered the entire concrete floor of the loft. A loft, a building that had been cast in darkness, lit only by what ambient light filtering in through the windows.

Derek took a step closer, his eyes focused completely on Kali as he snarled, "I'm gonna rip your throat out. With my teeth."

He didn't just lunge at Kali, he leapt a good eight feet into the air. Holly closed her eyes and tried to turn away from the fight, but Aiden would have none of it. Every time she turned away, he jerked her head back. Every time she closed her eyes he yanked on her hair. She tried to stay silent, to not distract him from the fight but impulse took control and she screamed his name when Kali slashed her claws across his back. The blow renewed her struggles against the twins and forced each to hold her tighter or lose their grip on her altogether.

It felt like it went on for hours. Every time Derek hinted at almost gaining the upper hand Kali retaliated. Isaac or Boyd or maybe both must have moved because Derek shouted at them to wait. It felt like another eternity passed and then Isaac was rushing towards her, the twins released her, but before she could move from the doorway Isaac curled his body around her.

His body cushioned their fall to the ground and he used his arms to shield her face and eyes from the electricity running full tilt on the floor. Boyd's plan had been a good one. No… would have been a good one, had it worked. But instead of just Kali being caught in the blast Boyd, the twins and Derek shared in the discharge.

"Take him!" Kali yelled as the wolves tried to regain their standing.

Isaac maintained his grip on Holly. Like he wanted to shield her as much from the electricity that no longer flow as from the sight of the twins flanking Derek. He fought as they held his arms up, claws out as Kali picked up Boyd. Someone screamed no and Holly had no idea if the word came from her or someone else but she turned away and buried her head against Isaac's shoulder at the last possible moment.

She didn't want to see them impale Boyd on his Alpha's claws. She didn't want to hear the gurgling sounds of him struggling to cling to life.

"I'm giving you until the next full moon, Derek," Kali began.

Holly looked up then, though Isaac's hand against her head limited her movement she watched as Kali strutted away from the horror of Derek's fingers bayoneted in Boyd's chest and towards the door. She moved with the confidence of a woman that succeeded in her task and was on her way to celebrate her victory.

"Make the smart choice. Join the pack. Or next time I'm killing all of you."

Kali paused as if she needed to make sure he heard her words, but one look at Derek… it was obvious where he focused his attention. Holly wanted to strike out. She wanted to kick Kali as hard as she could as the barefooted woman passed her, followed quickly by the twins, but she didn't. Isaac continued to hold her protectively but she felt his muscles tense when Kali and the others approached. They didn't attack, simply walked pass them.

Footsteps sounded and for a moment Holly thought the Alphas returned. Cora, Stiles and Lydia appeared around the corner. Cora barely paused before she ran, collapsing at Boyd's side and sobbing. Holly felt her heart breaking for the girl. She might have barely known Boyd, but she knew Cora and Boyd were close. She knew what it felt like to arrive too let to do anything but hold the body.

Stiles moved behind Derek and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. Holly wanted to move, but she couldn't will her body to stand. Her mind refused to work. Kali… all of them killed him. They made Derek their weapon and killed him.

"Help him!" Cora screamed.

It took Holly a moment to realize Cora was talking to her.

"Help him!" she repeated clinging to Boyd. His shirt clenched in her fists.

"I… I can't… I don't know how."

"You brought Derek back do the same for Boyd."

Holly felt the sudden urge to run as Isaac helped her to her feet. Everyone kept telling her she brought Derek back but no one had been able to tell her exactly how. She wasn't a hundred percent convinced she did anything beyond be there when his werewolf powers kicked in. Unless it had something to do with the bond.

"I don't know how, I'm not sure—"

"—Please try," Cora pleaded. "You have to try."

Kneeling down next to Boyd in the water, Holly placed her hands under his shirt. She let her fingers touch the skin punctured by the claws, closed her eyes and prayed. When that didn't work she tried meditating, centering herself and clearing her mind like her doctor taught her. She didn't feel anything, but then she hadn't felt anything with Derek either. At least nothing she remembered. One moment she'd by crying over his body and the next he gasped awake.

She tried resting her head on Boyd's chest, her ear placed over his heart. Two hours passed with the others standing over her, waiting, hoping and ultimately realizing two hours or two days, it wouldn't change things.

Isaac's hand on her shoulder pulled her back and Derek bent down and picked up the body.

"I'm sorry," she whispered to Cora who stared at her with eyes silently accusing her of failure.

Holly sat back in the water and watched Derek carry Boyd's body out the door as the all too familiar feeling of helplessness settled over her.

She asked Derek to give her the bite.

She'd asked him to make her like him.

She thought she was ready to fully join his world.

She was wrong.


	18. Chapter 18

DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING. Well that's not a true statement, I do own some things, like my laptop, but I don't own Teen Wolf so there is that. I'm just having fun with the characters.

Thank you to those that have selected the story as a favorite and to those following! For those that have reviewed:

**RHatch89:** Thanks for the feedback. Hope you enjoy the next installment.

Hannah: I know, it was hard writing about his death. I like his character and I loved the reaction everyone had to it, even Lydia how hardly knew Boyd.

Laieanna: LOL! I'm glad the first line made you laugh, it was supposed to be a brief comic moment before the angst began. I wanted build on what the show was doing to Ethan since the hotel episode. But it was fun to write it from Holly's perspective since she's only had negative dealings with any of them. I have to admit it was fun writing Holly running in heels, and yeah I toyed with shortening the time or maybe having conversation in between but that's how I ended up picturing it in my head. In hindsight, I probably should have shortened the time it took for Derek to come back, but live and learn, right? I'm so glad you noticed the lack of contact between Derek and Holly it was actually done on purpose. At one time I was going to have Holly stand on the other side of Stiles, but decided this actually decided it was more of an impact to have them in the same room and have very little interaction between them. Not because they were still upset with each other, but because of bigger issues.

A/N: So you guys are probably wondering what gives since it's been a whole week between updates. Life, unfortunately. Work has become extremely busy and will continue to be so over the next 2 - 3 weeks. Which sadly means I will probably have to slow down to 1 chapter per week instead of the two I was cranking out. So I do apologize for that but hopefully you'll still continue to enjoy and read and favorite and follow and most of all review!

**A/W:** This chapter does not contain any AU.

**POTENTIAL SPOILER ALERT FOR EPISODE 8**

**TAKES PLACE DURING & AFTER EP. 8**

Chapter 18 – Sleep to Dream

"He's not here."

Holly didn't allow Peter attempting to block entrance to his apartment to keep her from entering his apartment. A simple duck under his arm and she found herself in the residence of Peter Hale.

His tastes ran opposite Derek. While she wouldn't jump right to lavish, the interior of his digs was a far cry from the abandoned burnt out Hale house Derek admitted to living in upon his return. And was a dramatic step up from the nearly unfurnished loft. Holly had seen vagrant camps in Somalia with more luxuries than the loft's original state.

"I'm not looking for Derek," she answered as she moved to the center of the room and turned around for a three-sixty view. "This is a nice place."

"You sound surprised. Am I supposed to be living in squalor?"

"No, but," she paused and walked around the couch to check out his view. "Kind of wondering where a dead man gets money to afford a place like this."

"My sister was a shrewd invester."

Holly continued to give herself a tour of the immediate area. Living room, dining room and kitchen all led strategically from one to the other. The furnishings were moderate, not the highest money could buy, but definitely on the higher end of the moderate scale. Excluding the Bose sound bar she spotted under the wall mounted flat screen. He even went as far as purchasing a few accent items. A statue here, a painting on the wall there. Just enough touches to help create the feeling of home.

"You have a nice home, Peter."

"I spent the past six years battling my way back from a burnt out shell. I think I'm entitled to nice."

"Never said you weren't."

"You haven't checked the bathroom or under the bed."

"Like I said," she placed her purse on the arm of the couch and turned to face him. "I'm not looking for Derek."

"Why would Derek come here for solace?"

"He wouldn't," Holly agreed watching Peter. "However, for the record, Derek's not looking for comfort. If he wanted that, he would have stayed. My guess is right about now he's beating himself up for what happened, and the absolute last place Derek would retreat to for self-reprobating, is your apartment."

"Noted."

"I believe it's even under sitting in raw sewage."

Peter folded his arms over his chest. "Disgustingly vivid, and noted."

"I even think it might be under—"

"—I get the picture," Peter held his hands up in surrender and promptly crossed them again. "He'd only come here if this was literally the last place on earth."

"Probably not even then."

"The question then, if you're not looking for Derek, why are you here?"

"Obviously you, Peter, or to talk to you," she paused and put on her best political face, "To convince you it was time."

"For?"

"You to step up and act like you're part of this pack."

He raised both eyebrows, he even almost smirked, but he didn't seem like he bought into any of her words.

"Perhaps you're forgetting I helped find where they were keeping Boyd and Cora."

"That was a month ago, and you suggested leaving them to rot in the vault. What have you done lately. Boyd's dead. Derek is AWOL. Cora needs you. Isaac needs you."

"And what about you?"

Holly hadn't actually intended to hit Peter, especially since his words probably were not meant in a lecherous way, but her hand flew all the same. The punch hit him square in the mouth with enough force to rock him back and send shards of pain shooting up to her elbow. Peter recoiled, one hand flying to his mouth. Holly turned and shook her aching hand. If she was going to be throwing punching she needed to remember how to do it correctly.

"I'm impressed," he tasted his own blood. "I didn't think you had it in you."

"Yeah well… don't think I won't do it again," she warned flexing her hand.

"Next time keep your wrist locked."

Holly wanted to glare at him, nearly did but he wasn't the Hale she was pissed at, just a convenient target.

"You are the only adult left in the pack."

"And you are…"

"Not a werewolf. I have no idea what it feel like to lose a pack mate, but I imagine it's up there with losing a family member."

"Worse," Peter corrected and for a flash, Holly actually saw real emotions coming from perhaps the cagiest man she'd ever met. "Losing a pack mate is like losing a part of yourself, it's like losing a limb. For an Alpha it's ten times that. Alphas are supposed to protect their pack."

"If you're trying to help me understand why Derek's taken a hiatus from reality I get it. He feels responsible, doubly so since they used him to kill Boyd."

"I always knew you were a smart one."

Holly did glare at that. "Derek's been gone for two days. I don't know when he's coming back and that's not the point."

"Enlighten me," Peter spread his arms and let them drop to his sides. "What is the point?"

"I already told you. Your pack mates need you, your niece needs you. I mean Jesus, Peter… even if you remove the werewolf aspect, Cora's still your niece. You and Derek… why do you need me to explain this to you? Why should I have to come here and beg you to do what you should already be doing. Why are you such a fucking coward?"

"What did you say to me?" he took a threatening step forward, but Holly held her ground.

"I called you a coward. Sure, you'll fight, if you can win. But when people need you were are you? Hiding, because you're afraid."

"Fine. I'll bite. Exactly what is it I'm supposed to be afraid of?"

"Admitting, you need them too. I know it," she lowered her voice. "And you know it. That deep down, you need them as much as they need you. And actually caring about someone other than yourself scares the shit out of you. Because my God, what if they let you down."

Peter snorted, glared at her and stalked to the window, but he didn't deny any of it. She couldn't read his back any better than she could read Derek. And the side angle of his face gave absolutely nothing away. Must be a Hale family secret, masters of stoical expressions.

"Funny," he finally spoke, "I don't remember you being this annoying as a child."

"It's a family trait I inherited when I turned eighteen. In addition to the trust fund, I get to be more irritating."

"Much more irritating."

Holly collected her purse and moved to the door, pausing before she opened it. "Dinner's at six and I expect you to be there. I need Isaac's help with something and I don't want to leave Cora alone."

"How do you know I'll be there?"

Holly smirked, "Because I believe there's more to you than being a bastard."

* * *

_NINE YEARS AGO…_

_Holly used the door of her locker to hide behind. She saw them at the end of the hall as she left her AP chemistry. If she were lucky, they passed her by too consumed in their own world to notice her. Realistically she knew she wouldn't be that lucky. She hadn't been on the bus so Derek would stop and ask if anything was wrong, and since Paige was with him she'd show concern as well. Not that she wasn't concerned._

_Holly knew Paige's concern was genuine. Unlike the rest of Derek's friends, Paige actually seemed to make an effort to get along with Holly, much to her chagrin. She would have been happy if the girl ignored her like she ignored the boys. Wished in fact she did ignore her. It would definitely make her life easier._

_She wanted to hate Paige, and she succeeded every time she saw her and Derek holding hands or stealing kisses. That should have been her, it had been her until her life imploded. Maybe if she let it slip to Mrs. Hale she would give Derek and Paige the same getting too close too soon speech._

_With a groan, Holly thumped her forehead against the locker next to her and offered the profound statement to the universe of, "Life sucks."_

"_I'll be happy to help you."_

_Holly stood up straight and looked up, and up into the blue eyes of Simon Crandall. He leaned against the locker she just used for self-brutalization. Extremely tall, blue eyes, blond hair he'd let grow out over the summer until it reached his shoulders, muscular build, captain of the swim and lacrosse team, and a senior. And the same guy that a year ago made a bet he could de-flower her._

"_What?" Holly frowned, rubbed her head and traded her chemistry book for trigonometry._

"_Chemistry. It's advance placement for you, but it's just regular chemistry for me. If you want I can help you."_

"_If I needed help, and I don't, but just saying if I did, in what alternate universe would I ever accept help from you?"_

"_I guess I deserved that."_

_Holly pressed her lips together and offered a faux pleasant smile. "Do you really have to guess?"_

"_Okay, no. I deserved that. I was a dick to you."_

"_Not me. You didn't get a chance to be a dick to me."_

"_I know, but the intention was there."_

_Holly shut her locker and pat his shoulder. Derek and Paige must have been delayed which meant if she hurried she might be able to avoid them all together. _

"_Please wait."_

_If only Simon would shut up. He held his arm out to stop her, but pulled back short of actually touching her. She gave him props for being smart enough to not go there._

"_Just a second, please let me explain."_

"_Explain?" she perched one eyebrow. "You mean there's a reason for you swiping girls' v-cards and then dumping them… and bragging about it?"_

"_No," he admitted. "There's nothing I can say other than admitting I was an asshole."_

"_Okay then, well… good talk."_

"_But I'm different."_

"_Really?"_

"_Look, a lot happened to me this summer, you can say I did a lot of growing up. My mom…" he sighed and shook his head. "Look it doesn't matter, and I mostly don't even expect you to believe me but—"_

"—_is there a point at the end of this? I mean if you're doing the whole twelve step program I get apologizing is one of the steps but shouldn't you be saying this to Rebecca or Sabrina, or Stephanie or, oh, say… half of the girls of the freshmen class?"_

"_I already did."_

"_Congratulations."_

_Her attempt to step around him met with Simon moving into her path for a second time._

"_Just hear me out, please?"_

"_Ohmigod, serious… fine. What?"_

"_I know you and Hale broke up or at least you're not dating but you're still friends which seems kinda weird but—"_

"_So not helping your case right now."_

"_I want to go out with you."_

_She stared at him, trying to figure out if the words she heard were the ones that really came out of his mouth._

"_Did you hear me?"_

"_Honestly, I'm not sure. It kinda sounded like you said you want to go out with me."_

"_I did I mean I did say that, I do want to take you out."_

"_Why would I go out with someone that made a bet that he could sleep with me? Ohmigod do I look that stupid, or gullible, or desperate? Just because I'm not going out with Derek and he's dating some beautiful girl who seems incredibly perfect for him doesn't mean I'm so thirsty as to go out with the same loser that less than a year ago made a bet he could get into my—"_

_The kiss he placed on her lips cut the tirade and short circuited her brain. It didn't last long nor did it become anything beyond the chaste press of lips but it was still enough to not just derail her train of thought, but send the train plummeting off the bridge and into the ocean._

"_I swear I'm a different person. That kiss, that will be the last one until you say it's okay. I won't touch you, I won't even try to hold your hand unless you initiate it, I promise."_

"_Why?"_

"_I think you're beautiful," he stated and managed to sound completely sincere. "I think you're smart, I mean I know you're smart you're a sophomore in a senior level chemistry class. I just, I hate I screwed things up last year. I'm just asking for a chance to prove I've changed."_

_She adjusted her backpack over her shoulders and felt the frown returning. Despite her expression, Simon looked hopeful, if not a bit flustered after his eyes moved from her, down the hall and back._

"_Just think about it, okay? We can do whatever you want. Even if it's watching the neighborhood kids little league games."_

"_Okay."_

_He's face lit up._

"_Okay you'll go out with me?"_

"_No! What did you just take drugs in the past five seconds? Okay I'll think about it."_

_He held his hands up and began backing away. "That's fair. That's totally fair. I'll talk to you after practice."_

_Holly glanced over her shoulder, though she guessed Derek's approach had been the driving force behind Simon's hasty retreat. She sucked in a lungful of air and plastered a smile on her face, returning the friendly wave Paige offered. She also noticed the way Paige quickly pulled her hand from Derek's and slipped it into her pocket as if it had been there the entire time._

_Paige was always doing little things like that, trying to make it easier on Holly. She was perhaps the sweetest girl in the school, and Holly hated her. Because she was dating Derek._

_Still, she didn't want to be that girl so she tried to convince herself she and Paige were friends in the hopes that one day she believed it._

"_Hey guys," she added an extra chipper tone to her voice._

"_What was that about?" Derek gestured with his head in the direction Simon departed._

_Holly glanced over her shoulder as if she had no clue what he meant, "Nothing."_

"_Did that nothing include him asking you out?"_

_She shrugged. "He asked, I told him I'd think about it."_

"_You what?"_

"_I don't really know him but he seems like a nice guy," Paige offered._

"_He's a jerk," Derek supplied._

"_He was a jerk, he seems to be, I don't know, on the twelve step jerk recovery program."_

_Paige grinned at that, Derek frowned._

"_You can't go out with him."_

"_What?"_

"_I said you can't go out with him."_

"_I heard what you said, I just can't believe you said it."_

"_Why not? The guys a loser. He's not worth your time. You can do better."_

_Holly stared at Derek with the sudden and overwhelming urge to cry and slap him. She bit down on her bottom lip to keep it from trembling. The pain helped to chase the tears back and dry her eyes._

"_Paige, can you please excuse us? I need to borrow Derek for a minute."_

"_Sure," she nodded and traded a glance between them. "I need to practice anyway."_

_Tightening her fingers around the strap of her backpack, Holly glanced down the hall and watched Paige's retreat. Most of the students already made their way to classes or the lunch room or where ever the period called for their bodies to be present._

"_What?" he asked almost impatiently._

"_You've got a lot of nerve."_

"_What are you talking about?"_

"_You don't get a say, Derek." She felt them returning, the tears stinging the back of her eyes. "You didn't stop your mom, when she told us we couldn't see each other. So you don't get a say in who I go out with."_

"_What was I supposed to do?"_

"_I don't know. But… five minutes before you told me you loved me, and then you sat there and said nothing when she said we were getting too close to fast. That we shouldn't get so serious and see other people and now you seem pretty serious about Paige, so I can't help but wonder if she gave the same speech and you… you know what it doesn't even matter."_

"_Holly—" he reached for her but Holly quickly stepped back from his fingers as if their touch would burn._

"_Don't, okay. Because I still have all these feelings for you. Feelings you clearly don't have any more for me. And I want to be happy for you but I can't because seeing you so happy with Paige and wishing it was me, I just… you don't have the right to tell me who I can and can't date because you've moved on, and now it's my turn to move on and if you don't like who I pick that's too bad. Maybe it's your turn to see how it feels to know someone you love is with someone else that is complete wrong for them for no other reason than it's not you." She felt the first tear fall from one eye and quickly be chased by more. "And you want to like the person but you really just hate her because you know, you know it should be you holding his hand because she can never ever possibly love him as much and then you feel so stupid and pathetic and—"_

"—_Holly you're not stupid and I still lo—"_

"—_No," she broke in. "Don't you dare say you still love me."_

"_But—"_

"—_Who I date," she shrugged hating the sound of her broken voice. That wasn't how she pictured it going down. "You don't get a say. And if I want to have sex with Simon. You don't get a say in that either."_

_She moved around him, quick before he could say anything. A fast walk turned into her running down the stairs and out the school. She didn't care where she went, just as long as it didn't remind her of Derek._

* * *

"You realize Boyd's death is not your fault," Deaton confirmed

The three of them, Deaton, Holly and Isaac sat in the medical room. Well, Isaac sat, Deaton leaned against the exam table while Holly paced. She tried sitting but her energy wouldn't allow itself to be contained motionless to a plastic chair. She felt lack of movement would lead to her exploding into a million pieces she so paced. From one end of the room to the next.

"His death no, staying that way, yes."

"That wasn't your fault either."

"It is if I have this ability inside that I don't know how to use properly."

"How did it work on Derek?" Isaac asked. "Maybe he wasn't dead but just, everything slowed down like when you're sleep."

"He wasn't sleep."

"But maybe it was really faint."

"Isaac," she paused and pulled her volume down back under control. "You weren't there. He was dead. Even if he had a heartbeat and pulse to faint to detect he wasn't breathing. So unless Derek is part Blue whale and spontaneously held his breath for three hours, he was dead."

"Let's take a step back," Deaton suggested. "Your mother's maiden name is after a goddess that possessed the ability to heal her people."

Isaac frowned. "Holly said the Tuatha Dé Danann were a race of people."

"History is written by the conquerors," Deaton explained. "In this instance those were Christians that needed to make sure the pagans adopted the new religion so they reduced their gods to people."

"So Holly's a demigod?" Isaac cut his gaze towards Holly who made sure to glare at him.

"I'm not a demigod."

"No," Deaton pointed to her. "But that doesn't mean your ancestors were not healers. Hundreds of years ago it was common for people to assume the name of their profession. Some werewolves, Deucalion and Kali for example, assumed the names of gods."

Holly nodded. "I've read about that."

"So, Holly's ancestors were healers," Isaac concluded.

"At the very least. My guess is Holly is descended from a specific line of druids devoted to the craft of healing called Cneasaí."

Isaac mouthed the word, Holly didn't even attempt a pronunciation. "Yeah I have no idea what that is."

"In Gaelic it means a healer."

"I'm gonna assume you don't mean like a doctor," Isaac stated.

Deaton smiled at that. "Not exactly."

But the smile faded as he focused back on Holly. She felt herself frowning as she paused her incessant pacing for a few moments to focus on the vet.

"This is fascinating and all, but it doesn't get me any closer to figuring out how to turn it on when I need to."

"I'm not sure you can."

She traded a look with Isaac.

"But you just said she was descended from druid healers."

"Yes, but we're talking centuries of thinning of the bloodline. The only reason it works now I believe are the natural energy currents of Beacon Hills and the bond Derek established," he paused looking between the two of them. "That is why it worked for Derek, but not Boyd."

"So you're telling me this miraculous gift of bringing back the dead only works on one person in the entire world? Great," Holly pushed her hands through her hair. "That's great."

"And yourself," Deaton added with one of his sarcastic smiles. "You'll be able to heal yourself but I'm not sure to what extent. And since it seems to work slower on you than Derek, obvious if it's anything life threatening..."

Holly exhales softly as she rubbed the tips of her fingers against her forehead. "You know I was hoping to come here an learn something helpful."

"There may be a way to tap into it." Deaton stated.

"You just said that it's too diluted," Isaac chimed in.

"As she is now, it is. There is not enough of a link left to the primal side left. That's what's required to connect to the natural currents and tap into the energy surrounding them."

"So in order to do that I have to what? Get struck by lightening or hit with gamma rays?" Holly asked only half joking.

Deaton met her gaze and held it. "You have to get bitten by an Alpha."

"She becomes a werewolf?" Isaac sat up a bit straighter. Holly felt the weight of his gaze shift to her without looking in his direction.

"When werewolves first came into existence the presence of a Cneasaí was almost as important as having an Alpha. Even today some packs with ancient bloodline that have a Cneasaí, consider any pack without one to be a demi-pack or incomplete."

"So, the Cneasaí is able to heal werewolves?" Isaac asked.

"You remember when I showed you how you can relieve the pain of others?" Isaac nodded. "The touch of a Cneasaí can heal wounds, cure diseases, purify toxins, the list goes on. According legend their ability to heal is dampened only by their vessel."

"Vessel?" Holly questioned.

"It takes energy to heal, and the body, werewolf or human can only take so much. When you brought Derek back, how did you feel afterwards? Physically?"

Holly leaned against the sink and folded her arms over her breasts. "I don't know, tired maybe, but… I was so elated Derek wasn't dead I don't really remember much beyond that."

She shifted one hand to rub against the back of her neck. She'd managed not to think of Derek for thirty whole minutes. He wasn't dead, at least she didn't feel that same empty pit in her stomach she remembered the night he died, but he wasn't here either. And no one knew where to find him.

Isaac and Deaton continued their discussion and it took everything in Holly to tune back in.

"Why aren't Cneasaí still part of packs now?" Isaac questioned.

"Most of them were murdered." Deaton answered. "Targeted by hunters."

"Why?"

"Everyone knows if you cut the head off of a hydra two more grow in its place. But if you take a creatures heart, its source of life's blood, it dies."

"Kill the Cneasaí and you kill the pack," Holly chimed in.

"Or at least make them weaker," Deaton nodded. "If they can't regenerate their limbs…"

"They found a way to cauterize the wounds," Isaac concluded

"Exactly."

"Wait…" the tenseness of Isaac's voice pulled Holly's eyes to the teenager. "If you know all this, does Derek?"

Deaton seemed to weigh the possibility but eventually nodded. "If he doesn't know for certain, it's probably that he suspects. Has he offered to bite you?"

"No. In fact when I asked him he refused."

Holly saw Deaton's reaction. The surprise that registered on his face before he slipped back into that wise Pei Mei expression.

"Wait," Isaac pushed. "Derek knows if he bites Holly he'll have a Cneasaí in the pack and he said no."

"He thinks he's protecting me."

"He is. Assuming you survive being bitten, it's not guaranteed the bite will allow you to tap into your ancestors' abilities but the probability is high. If Deucalion knew what you were, I'm guessing he would have already bitten you and forced you to join his pack."

"That sounds… awful." Isaac mumbled and turned his gaze back to Holly. "We can't tell anyone this."

"No, we have to figure out how to convince Derek to bite me."

"That's not a good idea, Holly. Not while Deucalion is still around." Isaac nodded as Deaton spoke. "Like I said, the only reason he hasn't bitten you himself or had one of the others do it is because he doesn't know what you are. If Derek bites you and you become a Cneasaí he'll know. And he won't leave Beacon Hills without you."

"And if someone else dies and I could have stopped it by being a Cneasaí?"

Deaton's mouth opened but nothing came out. Instead he snapped his lips together and turned as a woman stepped into the exam room. She wore her dark hair long, straight and unadorned with any hair accessories. Her skin may have been a shade or two lighter than Deaton's, closer to Holly's complexion, but the similarities between the two led Holly to assume the new arrival was related to Deaton. Sister, probably, though cousin was believable as well.

One thing she picked up on for certain, Deaton didn't seem pleased to see her.

"How much did you hear?" he asked.

"Enough to confirm suspicions," she answered folding her arms over her breasts.

She shifted her gaze to Holly studying her with an intensity that let Holly have an inkling of how an antelope felt with the eyes of a lioness on them.

"Isaac take Holly home. Make sure someone keeps an eye on her."

Isaac nodded and motioned for Holly to join him at the door. She didn't want to. There were more questions she had for Deaton, not the least of which revolving around the identity of the woman that just made the temperature in the room figuratively drop ten degrees. At least until it hit Holly like a ton of bricks.

Ms. Morell… the guidance counselor? What the hell was she doing there?


	19. Chapter 19

DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING. Well that's not a true statement, I do own some things, like my laptop, but I don't own Teen Wolf so there is that. I'm just having fun with the characters.

Thank you to those that have selected the story as a favorite and to those following! For those that have reviewed:

**RHatch89:** Thanks for the feedback. Hope you enjoy the read!.

**Darrak**: Hey there! I'm glad you're enjoying the read and thanks for reviewing for me. Also tickled that you like Holly. It always makes me smile when someone tells me they are enjoying the OC I've written into the story. Makes me feel I've accomplished something.

**laurenrulez1**: Here's another update! Hope you like it.

**Hannah:** Thanks! I knew I was going to make Holly something based on her heritage and I knew I wanted to stay away from the fae aspect due to other stories already going that route, I just hadn't decided completely what I wanted it to be. I was looking up gaelic words and Cneasai landed in my lap and everything clicked! Hopefully you'll also like what that means for her and Derek's future and how it changes things for them!

**Phoebe Nixon:** Thanks! The flashbacks are fun. A bit more challenging with Paige, I admit I had planned to do one for each year until the fire, but with the introduction of Paige in the series I had to backtrack and re-plan. No biggie, I think it actually worked for the better and made the story stronger. Like I stated above the Cneasai thing hit me like a ton of bricks but it's being well received so I'm glad I had that bit of inspiration. It also makes Holly more than just an additional character. She actually brings something to the table, and again, it changes the aspect of the relationship. It will also allow me to have some symmetrical moments!

**Laieanna:** At first the chapter sort of started as a filler, or maybe a connector is more along the lines. I didn't want to completely skip over the episode that introduced Paige, but at the same time I didn't want to just have Holly sitting there listening to the story from Peter's perspective either since everyone already saw that episode. Like you've pointed out before, I like to show what happens while the camera's not rolling, so having a reason for Peter to show up, and explaining why Isaac wasn't there worked perfectly! though I have to agree I missed not writing about Derek. I was gonna do a quick mind set check of him, but every time I did it came out weak so I decided to scrap it. At least we got some Peter and Holly interaction. That's almost as good. You seem to be peaking into my head about the bite. The question is more when/where/why will the bite happen. And of course who! As for the bond, I actually started off making it a soul mate thing but decided against it. Nothing at all wrong with the star crossed lovers (I enjoy reading those stories as well), but I thought for this story, it'd be more fun from an 'accidental' bonded angle. I like that it does leave the reader wondering, what would have happened if it hadn't been initiated and how does that affect how they relate to each other, if even on a subconscious level. Will there eventually be resentment? If I decide to write a sequel it could be interesting to explore that a bit more.

A/N: Again guys, my apologies for the slow down in posting chapters. Between work and home life I don't have quite as much free time as I used to, but I do hope you will all hang in there and continue to enjoy and read and favorite and follow and most of all review! I also feel now is as good a time as any to say we are nearing the end of this story (though most of you probably figured that out). I figure there are about 4-6 more chapters left, depending on how they flesh out once I start writing them.

**A/W:** This chapter contains slight AU.

**POTENTIAL SPOILER ALERT FOR EPISODE 9**

**TAKES PLACE DURING EP. 9**

Chapter 19 – Stubborn Love

"Normalcy. Or the illusion of it."

Anne looked over to Holly with a curious, if not slightly confused expression on her features. "What is?"

"Right now you're probably asking yourself why the hell they didn't cancel classes today?"

"Seems an appropriate response to a body draped over the sign."

Holly nodded as she and Anne walked past the line of police trying to piece together how one of their own met such a horrific end. She found herself wondering the same thing. According to the books she'd been reading, guardians should have been the last sacrifice, but a police officer had been found dead, literally, on the front steps of the school.

"Under normal circumstances I'd agree with you."

Anne raised an eyebrow, "Under normal circumstances? What about this is normal?"

"Beacon Hills," Holly began and paused frowning. "With Adrian missing and presumed dead, and Boyd, and Erica, and Heather and the list pretty much goes on and on. I think they just want to give the students something normal to cling to. Nothing says turn your attention away from the body like a pop quiz."

"I suppose you're right. Put on a brave front for the children."

"Yeah, and try not to get your name added to the list," Holly paused as they reached the stairs. "Do me a favor. If you ever get into trouble, or if I go missing call this number," as Holly spoke she pulled out a slip of paper and began jotting down Derek's number and address. "His name's Derek, he's a friend. He'll keep you safe."

"Safe from...?" Anne smiled mischievously and regarded Holly with an inquisitive expression.

Holly wanted to tell her what was going on, but most of the secrets she learned over the past weeks weren't hears to disclose. And she couldn't very well tell her about herself without bring in the part about werewolves.

"Just… anything. With all the disappearances you can never been too careful."

"What is he? A private investigator or something?"

Holly nodded, "Or something. I've got to go take care of something before first bell," Holly concluded nodding towards the stairs.

"Sure, oh, wait… in case I don't see you later, are you coming to the recital tonight?"

"Since the principal decreed it mandatory for staff and faculty yes, but I would have come to give you my support anyway."

Anne offered her a relieved, if not still slightly nervous smile. She stayed there, watching Holly a few moments as the woman took the stairs to the second level. She offered a few students smiles as she passed them on the way to Ms. Morell's office.

Deaton knew her, but beyond that she was Deaton's sister. Isaac confirmed her suspicions on the way back to the loft. Which meant she was tied to this twisted tail, Holly just hadn't figured out how. According to Isaac, Scott told him Morell was Deucalion's emissary. Much like Deaton had been Talia Hale's emissary. They were both druids, or some type of druid. She didn't bother telling Isaac as he talked she'd been piecing together what happened. The sacrifices, the rituals, the fact that Deaton told Stiles they were the work of a darach. The puzzle finally began to take on some semblance of shape, and that shape pointed to an emissary. Or more to the point, a pissed off former emissary.

Holly knocked on the door once, waited, and tried the knob only to meet the resistance of a locked door. A quick surveillance of her surroundings produced a soft swear under her breath. Too many students loitered in the area, and even if they weren't there, the risk of picking a fairly public locked door in the middle of the day was too great. She didn't know what time Morell's first appointment was, but she couldn't risk her finding Holly in her office.

The recital. A grin flashed across Holly's face as she headed back towards her library. The perfect opportunity for a little B&E.

9999

Cora paced the length of the music room. Every muscle in her body felt on fire, wound tightly like a spring, but with no release.

He'd been gone for three days.

No sign of Derek. No word from him. No contact to any of them, not even Holly. He took Boyd's body to be found so his parents at least could find peace and he hadn't been back. Instead they got Peter.

She didn't trust him. She didn't like him. He killed their sister, though he claimed he had been out of his mind at the time. He claimed he hadn't realized it was Laura. And now he was there, in place of her brother, in place of their Alpha. Did he really think he could successfully replace Derek? Alpha or not? Did he think he could replace Boyd?

At the first feel of tears stinging the back of her eyes Cora channeled her grief into anger and drove her fist through the drywall. Her fingers wrapped around the plaster so chunks came free as she withdrew her hand. She needed to destroy something or someone, anything it didn't matter anymore. She needed to do it for Vernon.

A familiar scent touched her nose and caused her feet to temporarily grasp onto the ground. She knew that smell, the same one that lingered in the loft three nights ago. The same one she smelled earlier that very same day leaving the room with Lydia Martin.

Cora snarled, knotted her fingers into tight fists and released them. Her claws grew, sprang to length like switchblades. Stalking out of the room, Cora traced the scent, followed it to the boys locker room. Beyond the door to the coaches office she heard hushed whispered. Lydia with Aiden. Lydia, making out with Aiden. Lydia making out with Aiden that helped kill Boyd. Cora warned her what would happen caught her with Aiden and that had been before he killed her pack mate… her friend. The only true one she'd had since the destruction of her family.

Wait, Scott told her. Wait until they figure it out. Figure what out? They knew who had been responsible, there was nothing to figure out beyond killing them. Beyond avenging Vernon's death.

Holly hadn't been able to save him.

Cora would make damn sure he at least had company.

* * *

The first time she felt it she dismissed it. That shiver that ran the length of her spine and made parts of her body tingled that shouldn't have been tingling in school. Holly had managed not to think about Derek for the first half of the day but suddenly he was there in her thoughts. Images of his face, or the touch of his hands against her body, or the smell of his skin. She tried to dismiss it, but the feeling only grew more intense.

By the third time her mind finally grasped the understanding behind it.

"Derek," she spoke softly.

"I'm sorry dear, what was that?" Mrs. Fitzgerald, the elderly volunteer the principal assigned to the library looked puzzled at Holly.

"Nothing," Holly coughed a bit. "Would you excuse me I… I need to…" she gestured towards the door, unable to finish the sentence.

He felt close, a realization that elated her and freaked her out at the same time. Was this what Derek meant when he told her the bond would allow them to sense when the other was near? Once outside the pull felt stronger urging her towards the back of the school. Holly took the side route, cutting across the lawn next to the building and down the steps to the underpass that allowed students to travel under the parking structure to the lacrosse field.

That silhouette. Too dark to see his face, but Holly would have recognized the outline of Derek's body anywhere. The curve of his thighs and backside, the line of his build from his hips through his shoulders. The almost regal way he cared himself, so proper, shoulders back. She all but heard his mother's voice reminding him to stand up straight.

Holly ran towards him and left behind all the anger and pain his disappearance brought. She didn't stop moving until she collided against his chest and felt his strong arms around her waist, lifting her from the ground. She clung to him, first in a hug, then in a kiss that threatened to leave her with painfully swollen lips. She didn't want to let him go for fear the moment she pulled back she would wake and find it all a dream.

Derek broke away first, each of them breathless. Her fingers touched his chest, needing physical reassurance and finding it in the hard corded muscles that lay under the cotton shirt. She felt him move his fingers up her back to cradle her head. His forehead pressed against hers. His breath coming out in quick pants silenced only by an occasional press of his lips to hers.

"I missed you," he finally breathed.

His hands seemed to be everywhere. In her hair one moment as he kissed her again, and then trailing down her side, over her hips and returning up her back to delve into her hair again.

"I missed you so much," he repeated.

"God, Derek, I was so worried. I tried to look for you, we tried to look for you but we couldn't find you. I didn't… I thought—"

"—I'm sorry," he spoke in a voice so thick and heavy Holly didn't just hear his words she felt them against her skin. Tasted them against the back of her mouth. "And I'm here now. And you're safe."

She gave a weary smile and allowed her fingers to touch his face. His beard had grown in. Soft hair replaced the rough stubble. He looked older, but he still looked like Derek. Her Derek. One index finger traced against his bottom lip. It felt as soft as she remembered. He felt exactly as she remembered.

"I'd believe that more if it the evil twins weren't roaming the halls like roving sentries."

Derek answered with the palm of his hand moving down the length of her spine and slowly back up so his hand cupped the back of her head and his fingers curled into her hair.

"They're not going to hurt you."

His touch felt like energy moving into her body. Stress that crept into her being and caused ever muscle to tighten melted away under the passing of his hands.

"Hi," she whispered as a coy smile touched her lips.

"Hi," he greeted back just as softly.

Derek initiated the kiss again, his lips barely brushed across hers and promptly settled in deeper. His tongue kindling a scorching fire that shot from one set of lips, blazed a trail through her body to end at the other set. Minutes, hours could have passed but the blaring noise from the bell broken them apart.

Holly pulled back and rest her head against his chest.

"I feel like a couple of teenagers stealing kisses between classes."

"Do you have swim practice after school?"

"No."

"Then come with me."

"Peter's at your loft."

He smiled and trailed the back of his fingers down her cheek, "Is that your doing?"

"He wanted to step up and start contributing."

"That's definitely your doing."

Holly shook her head, "Does it matter? He's there when he could have said no."

Derek nodded and touched her lips again, this time with a fleeting kiss. Holly didn't try to resist the urge to go with him. As soon as she saw him standing there she knew she was a goner anyway. She'd go to hell if it meant being with Derek, bond or no bond.

"They're having a recital tonight," she rest her hands on his shoulder and tilted her head back so she could look into those green eyes. She missed those eyes. "A musical memorial in honor of the lost and missing. Which I suppose is meant to help with the healing process, but it's mandatory for faculty."

"I can have you back by then," Derek suggested. "I'll even go with you."

"Yeah?"

"It can be our first official date."

She chuckled a bit at that. "A bit morbid for a first date."

"I don't care," he murmured softly. "As long as I'm with you, it doesn't matter."

The smile faded slightly from Derek's lips as he kissed her again, and just as before the bell interrupted. Signaling to students their tardiness to their next period. It dawned her Holly, all Derek needed was an affirmative answer from her.

Her rational side shook her head and reminded her of the responsibilities to work. School was still in session, Mrs. Fitzgerald volunteered her time, it wasn't right to leave her in charge. But right felt like a relative term.

"My house is closer."

Those four words turned out to be all the encouragement Derek needed.

* * *

Derek's breath continued exiting his mouth in ragged pants, even after he rolled onto his back and pulled Holly against his side. He needed this, needed her, needed to feel like a normal man, even the illusion of a normal man had been enough. It wouldn't last, it never did, but basking in the afterglow… it felt like time stood still. Like the world belonged only to them and nothing could touch them.

"I love you," he whispered and placed a delicate kiss against her sweat covered brow. "And I want to thank you."

"For?"

"This?" he questioned and received a playful punch to his stomach. "Peter at my loft. Taking care of the others while I was gone. Not asking why I left."

"I know why you left, Derek, everyone knows why you left. Not everyone necessarily agrees with it."

"I had to."

"I trust you."

"But," he pushed at the hesitation in her voice.

"But I think you're wrong."

"About what?"

"About giving me the bite."

He knew the words would come from her mouth before she even spoke them but it didn't make it any easier to hear.

"We already talked about this."

"No, we didn't. You said no and promptly closed down but at no point did we discuss why?"

"I told you why."

Derek sat up, at least he made an attempt, but Holly rolled over, straddled his hips and promptly shoved him back to the bed.

"No, you said because the bite could kill me."

"And it could kill you."

"Like it killed Paige?"

"How do… who told… Peter."

Goddamnit Peter. Every secret he ever confided in the man eventually made it to someone's lips at some point in time. He gossiped more than a girl. Or maybe it was less gossiping and more his inability to keep secrets.

"Why didn't you tell me? Derek you were my best friend."

"I couldn't tell you, I couldn't tell anyone. I killed…"

"The girl you were in love with?" Holly finished without the amount of hurt in her voice and face Derek anticipated finding there.

There was residual pain. He imagined Holly never loved anyone else other than him, thanks to the bond. Finding out he didn't experience the same, he saw what it meant on her face, the way she looked away from him when he tried to maintain eye contract. She never loved anyone else, he did. It hurt. Even if she tried to deny it.

"And you're asking me to try the same with the woman I love. I can't lose you to the bite like that. Not now."

"And what if you don't?"

"There are no guarantees. No way to know what effect the bite will have on someone until after they've been bitten and by then it's too late."

"Except you and I are bonded. Both Deaton and Peter think if you are the one that bites me the bond will ensure the bite takes."

Derek paused for a moment and simply stared up into her eye. She'd been talking to Deaton.

"It's more than the bond, Holly."

"I know."

"No you don't."

"Deaton told me all about the Cneasaí. That if I became a werewolf I would probably be one. That I would be able to save lives. Maybe even bring back the dead."

"Deaton didn't tell you everything."

"He told me more than you. We're going to seriously have to work on our communication skills, Derek."

"Did he tell you most Cneasaí were hunted and murdered?"

"Yes."

"Did he tell you when Deucalion finds out you're a Cneasaí he'll pull you into his pack? Whether you want to be a part of it or not?"

"He told me if Deucalion find out he'll try to enlist me, yes."

"It's not if, Holly it's when. Cneasaí give off an energy. It's like a beacon of life. It's like the same thing that lets us know when a new Alpha has been made. It will draw him to you."

"Just because he wants me doesn't mean he'll be able to have me. I won't join his pack."

"Then he'll kill you."

She gave an exasperated sigh and punched his chest. "This may have escaped your attention, but they seem to want all of us dead anyway. And I'd rather be able to help. I can't help you now Derek. Or actually the problem is I can only help you. Don't you get it? As a Cneasaí could have saved Boyd. I can save others."

He shook his head and with his hands on Holly's waist, lifted her off his body and on the bed next to him.

"There's not enough time. The full moon is only a two nights away. I can't teach you what you need to learn in order to use your abilities. I don't even know that I can teach you."

"Deaton said much of it will be intuitive. That it'll just happen."

"No!" he shouted and stood. "Holly what you're asking… you're asking me to make you a target. More of a target than I am."

"I'm asking you to help me save lives. This isn't just about what you and I want, Derek. There's more to it than that!"

"You're asking me to—"

He paused as somewhere in the pile of clothing on the floor his phone rang. He probably would have let it go to voice mail, but at the end of the sixth ring there was a pause before it started all over again.

"What is it Stiles," he growled into the device.

"It's Cora," the teenager's frantic voice came in on the other end and the words came out in a jumbling tidal wave. "She went with me to explain what has been happening to my dad so he'd have a snow ball's chance at actually stopping this and not ending up on the wrong side of the darach, but right when she was about to show him she passed out and the head wound she got from fighting Aiden earlier started oozing black blood and now she's unconscious and we can't—"

"Stiles stop. Where is she now?"

"We're taking her to the hospital."

"Why the hospital and not my loft?"

"Did you miss the part about my father being there and being in serious denial about the supernatural. 'Dad let's take the unconscious girl to a loft instead of the hospital…' not really going to play out with him."

"Alright, alright… I can meet you there."

He tossed the phone onto the bed and began yanking on his clothing. Sometime during the conversation, Holly began dressing as well.

"What's going on?"

"It's Cora," he began and pulled his shirt on. "She's not healing."

"Derek—"

"—No."

"—But I might be able to—"

"—I said no," he yelled. "We don't know what's wrong with her. I'm not going to entertain that unless there are no other options."

"And what happens if you wait too long while you're entertaining other dead end options?"

Derek fixed her with a warning gaze. "I said we're not going to talk about this now. I'll wait for you in the truck and drop you off at the school."

He didn't wait for her rebuttal or the argument he knew would be coming. He knew he was wrong, at least practically he was wrong. Biting Holly was not only the smart choice, it was the logical one. She had the ability in her, he felt it every time she touched him. Any slight ache or pain melted away. And it wasn't just physical, her touch quieted the voices in his head screaming at him that he was fucking up. He could think clearer, felt on top of his game. Except it seemed when it came to the issue of giving her the bite. Then everything became clouded again.

It didn't help that he was acting against instinct. Every time he was with Holly everything fiber of his being screamed to complete her transition. But he didn't, and holding back seemed to be taking a toll on his psyche.

Maybe she was right. Maybe Deaton and Peter were right in predicting the bond would somehow be a conduit for shepherding in the bite. But maybe they were wrong. At fifteen he held the love of his life in his arms while she died a slow and horribly painful death. Ten years later he didn't think he was strong enough to go through that again.

* * *

Not a word had been spoken between them on the ride from her house to the school, beyond her confirming she'd meet him at the hospital after the recital finished. She wanted to threaten him with some foolish ultimatum. If he didn't bite her she'd get one of the other Alpha's to do it, but they'd both know that was just a bluff. There was a greater chance of the ground swallowing the entire town of Beacon Hills than of her going to any of the other four Alphas for the bite.

She pushed a smile to her face when she greeted Anne standing at the main door welcoming students and parents. She even stayed to help act as the unofficial welcoming committee, but as soon as Anne begged off to make sure everything was ready, Holly took her leave for the second floor.

She clutched a mini Maglie between her lips while she worked the unfolded paperclip in the lock of Miss Morell's door. She didn't know what she expected to find in her office, but she was linked to everything going on. That alone was enough to inspire an unauthorized search. Besides it gave her something else to focus on other than slapping Derek until he came to his senses. From the way he behaved earlier, she'd wear her hand out before he came to his senses.

A satisfying click as the lock slide open pulled her lips into a smile around the Maglite. The same Maglite that dropped to the ground as a piercing scream sliced through the corridor.

"The hell was that?"

Holly snatched up the Maglite, shoved the paperclip in her pocket and ran to the center stairs. For a moment, after reaching the first landing she wondered how it could not be filled with teachers, parents and students wondering where that scream came from. It didn't take long for her to realize the music from the recital probably blocked it out to everyone inside.

She heard voices coming from the classroom in front, or a voice. Someone talked and someone cried. She shoved the flashlight into her pocket, crossed to the door, flung it open and stopped.

Lydia Martin, the same Lydia that had been at Derek's loft the night Boyd was killed sat in a chair. One wrist duct tapped to the armrest, the other nearly completed in the same wrapping by Anne. Tears streamed down Lydia's face and the poor girl appeared completely rung out of any energy left.

Anne knelt next to the chair finishing off securing the other wrist. The look on her face didn't match her actions, surprise but awe and amazed as well.

"Anne?" Holly took several steps inside the room as he brain tried to come up with some logical scenario for why Anne would be tying up a student. Her eyes moved from Lydia to the ceremonial looking dagger resting on the desk. "What the hell are you doing?"

"You're timing is perfect, Holly."

"Timing for what?"

"I found her like this."

"No…" Lydia sobbed. "She's lying."

"Anne get away from her now."

"You were right."

"About what?"

"Adrian, the others… the desire to keep your town safe."

Holly took another few steps forward and forced her gaze to stay away from the knife. No need in giving it away, not until she was close enough.

"You're a part of it. You have a role to play in all of this."

"Part of… part of the sacrifices?" almost there. Another couple of steps. "But I'm not, any of what you've been sacrificing. I'm not a virgin, warrior, heal…"

"You're not just a healer you're the healer. All of this is in your honor."

"What are you talking about? I… whatever it is you think I am, I'm not."

"You don't understand yet, but you will. You will and you'll see this is the only way. That's why they had to be sacrificed. It's the only way it can be completed."

Holly lunged forward. Pushed herself into the air and for the desk. She felt her fingers close around the handle of the dagger for only a second before it slipped out of her grasp. Something pulled it, some invisible force she couldn't see.

The lunge concluded in her careening off the desk and into the wall. She righted herself and quickly pushed to her feet in time to see Anne, dagger in one hand, sprinkle a powdery substance from the other hand across the blade before rushing towards her. Holly twisted out of the way and raised her arm, catching the side of Anne's face with her forearm.

The blow should have been enough to send the woman flying backwards. Instead she shrugged it off and spun her body around. Using the momentum, Anne raised her own forearm and slammed it into Holly's throat. She pushed forward, riding the motion until she drove her back against the chalk board. Holly wrapped both hands around Anne's forearm, and sunk her nails into her skin at the same time she felt the knife thrust deep into her side.

Being stabbed.

It didn't feel like Holly suspected it would. Not that she dwelled on the feeling often, but after finding her mother, she sometimes found herself thinking on death. Her flesh didn't offer as much resistance as she thought it would. Instead of stopping the knife, it allowed it to pass easily inside.

Like butter.

It didn't hurt. She always assumed it would take several minutes for shock to kick in and dull the pain but after the initial entry the pain subsided. Other than the tug when she withdrew the blade she barely felt anything at all.

Anne leaned forward and whispered foreign words into Holly's ear, and pain flared from the stab wound and rushed through her body like wild fire.

She scream, twisted her body and vomited blood that left her throat scorched and enflamed. Searing pain, like a fire consumed her from the inside out. Clenching her jaw Holly screamed again unable to contain the agony any longer.

She clutched her wound and rolled onto her side, vaguely aware of another person in the room. Under the desk she saw first a pair of shiny shoes. They were soon accompanied by gym shoes. Something or someone snarled, and Holly cried out again as she worked to prop her back up against the wall.

She needed to stand. She needed to get her and Lydia out of there and away from Anne, but accomplishing that turned into a herculean task. The slightest movement resulted in debilitating pain. And suddenly the desk slid across the floor and slammed the door shut.

A gunshot.

Surely that sound made it over the crescendo of music from the recital.

Holly watched as Anne walked closer to Sheriff Stilinski. The knife that stabbed her embedded in his shoulder. Across the room, Scott spat blood onto the floor and made a failed attempt to stand. At the door, Stiles struggled to push against the heavy wooden barrier to enter the room.

All three of them watched helpless as Anne pressed her lips to Sheriff Stilinski's mouth.

Holly pulled herself a foot closer and nearly crumpled under the pain.

Scott took several stumbling steps and pushed himself to his feet.

Stiles shoved the desk back enough to slip into the room.

They all watched helpless as glass shattered, the wind blew back, and a moment later Anne and the Sheriff were gone.


	20. Chapter 20

DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING. Well that's not a true statement, I do own some things, like my laptop, but I don't own Teen Wolf so there is that. I'm just having fun with the characters.

Thank you to those that have selected the story as a favorite and to those following! For those that have reviewed:

**RHatch89:** Thanks for the feedback. Hope you enjoy the read!

**Hannah:** Thank you for the kind words. I'm glad you're enjoying reading the world I've created from the Teen Wolf characters, and I'm especially glad (as I've said before and will say again) that you are entertained and not annoyed by my OC!

**laurenrulez1:** Hope you enjoy!

**Guest:** Sorry it took me two weeks this time to update. I'll try to get the next installment out sooner, but I hope this was worth the wait.

**Tarafina:** muahaha! I have to admit I kind of like the cliffhangers. Though to be honest as we approach the end I'm finding it hard to not end the chapters without them. Actually it's sorta impossible. You know something's coming around the corner. I just hope everyone enjoys my take on the turn of events since they've had to be altered to fit the story I as writing. I'm with you for Boyd, but that would have been too much of a AU. I get the feeling I probably would have lost people there. But thanks for reading, and I'm glad you're enjoying the little touches of home that are being added! Oh and the in between.. yeah I find those easier to write because I don't have to remember word for word what was said in the show. Besides it gives people a chance to see how they got from A to B.

**Phoebe Nixon:** More to be revealed. I have to admit I probably made it obvious it was Anne when they casually ran into each other at the mall, but in fairness, for the longest of time even after writing that chapter I was flipping between Anne and the science teacher!

**Laieanna:** I loved writing the reunion... and then the fight direction after about him biting her. Poor conflicted Derek. I'm glad you (and it seems like the others) didn't think my tie in with Holly to the Darach and the sacrifices was too over the top. I was worried I'd get some eye rolls behind that with it being too contrived or something! But as you stated, I wanted a way to tie Holly into the story as something other than just Derek's love interest. Like now there is a reason she might have felt the need to stay in a town she doesn't like!

K**landgraf2007:** Sorry it took so long to update! I hope you enjoy it!

**A/N:** Again guys, my apologies for the slow down in posting chapters. Between work and home life I don't have quite as much free time as I used to, but I do hope you will all hang in there and continue to enjoy and read and favorite and follow and most of all review! I also feel now is as good a time as any to say we are nearing the end of this story (though most of you probably figured that out). I figure there are about 4-6 more chapters left, depending on how they flesh out once I start writing them.

**A/W:** This chapter contains AU.

**POTENTIAL SPOILER ALERT FOR EPISODE 10**

**TAKES PLACE DURING EP. 10**

Chapter 20 – Landslide

Anne poisoned her.

She had no way to knowing what poison she used, but Holly bet her life, whatever powder she doused the blade with had been laced with a toxin. A paralytic agent that only partially paralyzed her, but unfortunately not laced with anything to deaden the nerves. The pain that ripped through her body when she tried to crawl reminded her of that.

Scott got to her first, carefully turning her onto her back. Stiles still seemed to be in shock, staring at the shattered window as if looking at it would somehow bring his father back.

"Stiles. Stiles! Check on Lydia." Scott's instructions finally dislodged the boy's feet from the ground. "Are you okay?"

"No," Holly panted, tried to move on her own, and screamed again. "Po… poisoned," she panted out, nearly in too much pain to form thoughts let alone words.

She heard the two of them talking, but the words were partial lost. What she first assumed to be them speaking in foreign language turned out to be her hearing and consciousness flowing in and out.

"Derek," she managed to breathe out.

"Derek's at the hospital." Scott confirmed. At least she thought it was Scott.

"No… hospital. Can't help… Derek."

Holly had no idea of they understood her ramblings or not. In another moment it didn't matter. Scott picked her up and her entire body exploded in pain. If only the unconsciousness lasted, but each episode became more fleeting than the last. Each jarring step Scott took made her beg for death.

"Call Derek," she heard him say as he carried her. "Tell him to meet us at his loft."

Holly thought she experienced the worse it had to offer

Throwing up proved her wrong.

* * *

Derek paced the parking garage of his building. Stiles phone call had been vague at best, cryptic at worse. Something about Holly and throwing up blood, the teen seemed desperate to meet a word minimum in the second frantic call he received from him today. Holly's name had been the only thing able to pry Derek from Cora's side. That and the arrival of Peter to take his place watching over his sister.

He heard her screaming before Stiles' jeep turned into the garage and sent the headlights bouncing off the wall.

"What the hell happened?" he barely waited for the jeep to stop before he flung the door opened and nearly yanked Scott out of the passenger seat so he could get to Holly.

She occupied the back seat. Sweating and curled in a fetal position in the corner.

"We don't know," Scott began downloading the information as Derek collected Holly from the back.

He tried to move slow but it seemed even the slightest movement caused her pain. Eventually he simply gathered her in his arms and pulled her from the back to the sound of muffled cries into his shirt.

"Anne stabbed her but there seems to be more than that."

"She kept screaming about poison," Stiles added as the three engaged the elevator to his loft.

Her clothes and body were drenched in sweat. It looked more as if she'd taken a dip in the school pool and failed to dry herself off. Her body felt scalding to the touch. Too hot for her to remain at that temperature and not cause any damage. She threw up again, barely into the loft, blood mixed with…

Derek closed his eyes blocking out the rest he didn't want to imagine pieces of herself disintegrating. He didn't have to imagine it, he could smell death on her. But not just smell it, he felt it. the hollowness in his stomach.

He hushed her softly and stretched her out on the bed as gently as possible. Ashen skin, hair soaked and matted to her forehead, lips a darkened black as if they'd been burned. She clung to life, but only by a thread. If the bond hadn't existed between them she'd be dead. He knew it just as sure as he knew if he didn't do something soon she'd be past the point of any help.

"Holly! Holly can you hear me? Holly!"

"She can't hear you, Derek." Three sets of eyes turned to the figure standing in the doorway. "Well, maybe she can but she can't answer. You need an esophagus to talk and I'm pretty sure she threw that up back on the highway."

Too quick for any of them to track, Derek was at the bed one moment and held the woman suspended in the air by the throat the next. He didn't know who she was but he could smell Holly's blood on her and traces of the poison that coursed through her body.

"Who or what are you?" he demanded.

"You can't kill me, Derek."

"Why not?"

"You'll never be able to find Stiles' father or save your sister without me."

Derek squeezed tighter. Blood lust. It would be so easy, not to mention satisfying to crush her throat.

"Derek…"

He glanced over at the fragile teen and couldn't remember a time he'd seen Stiles look so utterly and completely devastated.

"…My dad," he concluded weakly almost defeated.

Snarling, he dropped Anne and let her collapse to the ground coughing as she sucked down air quickly.

"Whatever you did to Holly… fix it. Now."

"I can't."

Derek growled. He would have broken her neck if he touched her but Scott stopped him. Stepped into his path and kept his claws from sinking into her throat.

"We need her alive," the other wolf reminded him.

"You can save her," Anne all but goaded from the safety of being behind Scott. "You know how to save her, you're just too afraid to do it."

"Shut up."

"What's she talking about?" Scott questioned.

"She wants him to change, Holly," Stiles answered like he figured everything out twenty minutes ago. "She wants him to bite her."

"It's the only way you can save her," Anne added. "It's the only way you can save Cora."

"What did you do to Cora?" Derek practically growled the words and took another advancing step stopped by Scott and the phone ringing in his pocket.

"Insurance."

Derek curled his fingers into a tight fist. She goaded him like she already knew she'd pinned him into an impossible situation.

"How is she?" he spoke into the phone. The number on the front identifying the caller as his uncle.

"Not good. There evacuating the hospital and she's in and out of consciousness. Also she vomited up black blood and something else."

"Mistletoe?" Derek dreaded the answer before he even got the question out.

"How did you know?"

"I'm on my way," he ended the call and returned the phone to his back pocket.

"Without the bite, Holly dies. I can't save your sister without the help of a Cneasaí." Anne continued. "You know what you need to do, Derek. You don't have much time to decide. Pretty soon, even the bite's not going to save Holly."

Anne was right, but knowing what he needed to do didn't make the task any easier. He never wanted this life for Holly, didn't want her exposed to the same level of risk he endured most of his life. But Anne took away his choice and left him with two option. Bite Holly and pray she lived through it, or watch her die in front of him.

Decision made, Derek dropped his head as he let the idea fully take root. Everyone seemed to believe Holly would survive. He only prayed they were right. He looked in Holly's direction as a steel resolution settled into his mind, body and soul.

He crossed the loft and carefully took a position on the edge of the bed next to her. In five minutes she'd gotten much worse. Her skin held an ashen parlor of death, drenched in sweat and clammy. And yet she shivered as her body desperately tried to generate heat for itself. Her lips dried out to the point of cracking and turned a sickly blue.

Her eyes opened the moment his fingers touched her hairline and pushed damp hair away from her forehead, but they didn't seem to focus on him.

"Shh," he hushed her when she tried to speak.

"This is very touching but you're running out of time," Anne egged on.

"If she dies. You die."

Holly wouldn't go alone.

Derek let the power that made him an Alpha rush to the surface. His vision confirmed as it shifted from the normal ranges of the human eye to inferred of his wolf. He felt his jaw extend and shift to make room for the growth and expansion of his teeth.

She barely registered the impact of his teeth breaking through the flesh and muscles of her side. A barely audible groan. Her fingers clenching the comforter and twisting it in a weakened grip.

"Holly?"

He wiped the back of his hand across his mouth. He could taste her blood mixed with whatever toxin Anne used against her on his tongue. The hollowness in the pit of his stomach grew and twisted until he almost vocalized the pain.

He was losing her. He felt it. He felt her heartbeat slipping away. He had no way of knowing if he waited too late or was her body rejected the bite.

Taking one of her hands into his, he held it tightly and lowered his face close to hers, brushing his lips against her lips as he whispered, "Fight, Holly. Stay with me please."

Her breath hitched and stopped. Derek felt an invisible fist tighten around his heart until he cried out from the pain. The release felt just as painful. Like a rubber band snapped inside his chest. Holly bolted up, barely turning in time for her body to reject black blood onto the floor by the bed. Her fingers tightened around his hand as she gasped for air, eyes wide opened but focused on nothing.

"Don't fight it," he encouraged pushing her hair away from her face again.

He could feel the bite taking root in her muscles in every fiber of her being. It cooled her body as it worked to take control and merge with her.

"That's it," he murmured in her ear. "Relax, just relax. You're going to be okay."

Finally her gaze focused on him. The recognition in her eyes nearly collapsed him into tears as he brought her hand to his lips and pressed kisses to her fingers. From the corner of his eyes he noticed during the process, Stiles edged closer. Curiosity driving him to get a better view. Scott remained near Anne. Guarding her. Making sure she didn't bolt and take with her the knowledge of Sheriff Stilinski's location.

"Beacon Hills General Hospital is evacuating due to the storm," Derek finally informed that. "We need to go get Cora before they move her to another hospital."

"You can't move her," Anne stated.

"I'm not going to," Derek began and stood though he maintained his hold on Holly's hand. "Holly stays here. We bring Cora back, and you," Derek glared at Anne as he jabbed a finger in her direction. "Do whatever you need to help my sister."

"And my dad," Stiles asked urgently.

"I'll tell you where your father is," Anne began. "But only after Derek helps me."

"Helps you with what?"

"Destroy the Alphas. Kali tried to kill me once at Deucalion's request. Now that she knows I'm alive she will try again until she succeeds. You help me stop them, I'll tell you where Stiles' father is."

He felt the energy of his wolf filling his body, leaking into his muscles to make him quicker, ready to pounce into action. He didn't like being bullied and he definitely didn't like ultimatums, but one glance at Stiles he knew he had little recourse.

Derek knew better than any of them what it was like to live through the loss of not one parent but both of them. He damned his only family, he couldn't sit idly by and let Stiles lose the only family member he had left.

"Fine," he let the word slip out through his teeth.

He probably would have said more, added a threat if she dared to double cross them but a whimpering noise from Holly captured his attention and returned him to his seated position next to her.

"Shh," he hushed her with a press of his lips to her forehead.

She felt cooler and the hollow pit that resided in his stomach dissipated. Anne had been right. Not only was the bite taking, it was running the poison out of her system.

"Stay here and rest. We'll be back. I'll be back."

He recognized the defiant look in Holly's eyes. She didn't want him to leave her behind but she had no throat yet to voice her objections. He kissed her again, this time his lip pressed against hers, and after mouthing the words, 'I love you,' stood and faced the others.

* * *

Something woke her. She wasn't exactly sure what other than being positive it had been some external noise. With both hands placed on the bed, Holly winced and groaned as she pushed herself into an upright position.

Everything hurt. Muscles felt atrophied and ready to snap from connecting bones when flexed and moved. Her skin felt thin and stretched too tightly across her body. Like the slightest movement might cause it to tear and split open.

Neither ever did. Still as she sat up her movements came measured and slow. The loft smelled like death and rot, and it wasn't until she swung her legs over the side of the bed that she saw the black substance her body rejected dried on the floor. Outside the angry sky continued to rage in a storm. Inside she tried to pin point exactly what woke her.

Gingerly, Holly edged off the bed, gradually adding weight to her legs and testing their response. Encouraged when they supported half her weight she continued to add more until she stood upright. In the darkness she pulled her shirt up and examined the bite on her right side. She couldn't decide if it hurt more or less than it should, but she didn't have long to inspect it when a sound on the other side of the broken out wall captured her attention.

"Derek?"

Holly's memory fought against her. The last clear recollection she had was of entering the room and seeing Lydia crying in a chair. After that it became snapshots. Like a camera's shutter opening and closing rapidly as it fast forward through the scenes. She remembered Anne standing behind Lydia, then the knife, then Sheriff Stilinski. She remembered being in a car and her body feeling like it was melting from the inside out. She remembered Derek whispering to her but she couldn't remember the words.

Her hand touched her side, gently pressing the bite. He'd bitten her. He'd bitten her to save her life, but where was he?

"Derek?"

Holly managed a few steps towards the literal hole in the wall before she had to brace herself on the chair to keep from dropping to the floor. Her equilibrium shifted her world onto a momentarily slanted axis.

Her body felt heavy and she wasn't sure how much of it was from the bite or how much came from the venom.

"You're awake. I didn't expect you to be awake yet."

Holly turned at the sound of Anne's voice and found her standing just inside one of the doorways.

"I guess I shouldn't be surprised. I can feel the strength in your body. I felt it even before he bit you. You have no idea how much power you have, do you?"

_All of this is in your honor._ Anne's words from earlier echoed in Holly's head.

"Where's Derek?"

"He'll be along with the others. Probably sooner instead of later which means we don't have much time."

"Time for?"

"It's almost complete. Everything is almost ready. It's come together more complete and perfect than I could have hoped. Just a couple more pieces."

"What pieces?"

Holly's goal became to keep her talking. She figured if she could keep her monologuing, maybe revealing her plan, it would give Derek a chance to get back.

"To complete the sacrifice," she stated nonchalantly. "I'm going to need you to come with me."

"I don't see that happening."

Anne exhaled and shook her head. "You don't understand, Holly. It's not a request, you are coming with me. Now you can come quietly or I can force you, but either way the result will be the same."

"I guess we're going to have to go with option b."

"Have it your way."

Anne moved faster than Holly expected, almost with the speed of her werewolf. One moment she stood in front of the door, the next she'd cross the room to Holly. Still Holly had enough time to step back avoiding the closed fist. Still holding onto the back of the chair she'd used to brace herself, Holly slid it forward and crashed it against Anne's legs.

Her muscles responded quicker and more brutal breaking the chair apart upon impact and sending Anne skittering across the floor. In that instance Holly realized she could beat this woman. Or at least she thought she could.

The face Holly associated with Anne altered and contorted until it became replaced by a hideous mask of ruined flesh and scars. All traces of the beautiful woman gone. She should have run, or fought. Instead she stood there, her feet glued to the floor staring at the mutilated visage in front of her.

"Oh my god," she muttered.

Anne closed the distance between them, and as she moved she flung her hand in Holly's direction. A purple powdery substance scattered in the air. It coated Holly's skin, burned her nose, and left her with no time to react before the darkness closed around her.

* * *

She was gone.

Derek knew it before he entered the building. Whatever bond they shared, the way he felt a pull in his mind when Holly was close was gone. With Cora in his arms and Peter and Isaac following him inside the empty loft confirmed what he already knew.

"Where's Holly?" Isaac questioned and pushed forward.

"Maybe she left?" Peter suggested.

Derek scoffed at the idea. "She knew we needed her. She wouldn't have just taken off."

Carefully, he positioned Cora on the same bed Holly should have still been occupying and felt the last shred of hope fading away.

Anne was gone. She'd gotten the jump on him in the elevator, taken off, and taken Scott's mother. With her departure went most of the hope of saving Cora but Derek clung to the possibility that Holly would be able to tap into her blood. That her being a Cneasaí would be enough to save his sister.

"I don't think she left on her own," Peter offered.

Both Isaac and Derek turned to see Peter standing near the kitchen area staring at the floor. The other wolves converged on the spot. Derek from the bed, Isaac from the stairs.

"Wolf's bane," he muttered and stared at remnants of purple powder dusting the floor.

"Anne?" Peter questioned and looked up.

"Who else could it be?"

"Why would she want Holly?" Isaac questioned. "She's not a guardian, she can't use her in the ritual."

"Holly is… different," Derek spoke softly and walked back to sit next to Cora.

He took her hand, and as he pulled some of her pain into his body her subconscious muscle spasms ceased. He felt it. Somewhere in the back of his head as he pulled the pain from Cora he felt the bond between him and Holly surge through him. Behind him he heard Peter speaking but his concentration returned to Cora.

He used his will again pulling more of his sister's pain and with it that bond sparked again, though slightly dimmer this time.

"Too much, Derek." Peter warned. "You're taking too much."

"It's not me, at least it's not all me. I can feel Holly pulling the pain from her body through me."

"How is Holly taking her pain?" Isaac questioned confused.

"Because she's a Cneasaí," Peter informed. "And because she's bonded to Derek. Apparently, a bonded Cneasaí can heal her pack even over distances."

"Then maybe we can still save Cora. If Holly can pull the sickness from her through me—"

"—You don't know what damage that will have on you or on Holly," Peter pointed out. "Healing a member… you're taking more than just Cora's pain you're taking her sickness and Holly's not even fully transformed from the bite. You keep this up, you're going to kill her."

He didn't want to believe him. He wanted Peter to not know what he was talking about but he could feel the change. The second pull had diminished the bond. He felt the strength in it ebbing out slightly.

Derek looked from his uncle to his sister. Only twice before had he ever felt so ultimately helpless.

Once when he held Paige dying in his arms.

Twice when he stared at the smoldering remains of his family's home.


End file.
